


Edelweiss

by Chlodovech



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Fluff, M/M, Slight Smut, i don't know how to tag this but they also have their animal forms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-08
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-01-15 00:39:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 35,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1284748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chlodovech/pseuds/Chlodovech
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edelweiss [ˈeɪdəlvaɪs] - noun</p>
<p>1. daring, courage, noble purity and eternal love. This flower is capable to grow in harsh mountain climates, where there's no hope of a life. Its pure white coloring makes one think that everything is possible, even if one has to face danger and pain to prove the eternal love promised to the beloved one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The first meeting

Kagami Taiga is a cub of Bengal tiger. He lives with his mother, a strong tigress, in a forest that surrounds a small city. Although it’s a thick and dark forest, Kagami’s mother always adverts him to stay close to the cave where they live, in case dangerous animals appear when she’s out hunting. However, in an early morning when he wakes up, he sees his mother leaving the cave to hunt deers for breakfast, and he’s left alone.

Kagami tries to be a good cub, and to not worry his mother, but he can’t resist the instinct to leave the amount of rocks to take a look around his mother’s territory. The forest is still asleep, and he can only hear the cracks of branches in the trees, like they were stretching after a long nap. The though makes himself stretch, his short and sharp claws digging in the soft ground, scratching it a few times and then yawn lazily. He was still sleepy when a big grasshopper landed on his back, making the little cub roar in a pitched tone. Irritated by the suddenly attack, he completely forgets what his mother always tells him and chases the damn grasshopper, that trying to avoid his claws and teeth, jumps into the forest and is quickly pursued by the pissed cub, that driven by his anger, moves away from the den.

He followed the grasshopper until he arrived in a clearing of big trees, all of them making great shadows in a small, shallow pond. He looked around, astonished by the new place, a landscape he had never seen before. He was so used to play around the thick forest around his den that he was stunned by the wide and open area, until he heard the shrill sound of the grasshopper’s stridulation. Raising his furred, black and orange ears, Kagami followed the odd sound until he found the big, brown grasshopper landed in a fallen log near to some shrubs.

Feeling his natural hunter instincts emerge, the tiger cub lowered his backs until his belly was almost touching the ground, his russet eyes focused and his paws silently moving towards his defenseless prey. When he decided he was close enough, his tail stirred in excitement before he pounced on the poor insect…

Until his head slammed unexpectedly against something hard, knocking him down to the ground.

Kagami hissed in pain, shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness and looked up, confused. What was that that hit him? He stood up, but immediately froze when he heard another painful hiss coming from behind the log. His senses were at the fullest, like a whistle in his ears warning him of danger. Ignoring his trembles paws and heavy breath, he quietly approached the fallen log, sniffing the air and sensing a different smell, an entirely different  scent from all the other scents he had ever felt. Frightened but still curious, he stood on his hind paws, his fore paws on the log, and looked at _what_ was on the other side.

But he saw nothing.

His furred ears moved, surprised, his tail swinging behind him. He looked around. Maybe the thing that hit him was running away? But he saw nothing either. Twitching his snout with long whiskers, he was about to move away from the fallen log when the sound of  leaves fluttering and twigs cracking coming from the shrub made his eyes widen. He looked closely, his senses whistling in his ears again, telling him to get away from there and run back to home but his little body couldn’t move. And it was already too late when a black furred thing jumped in front of him.

Startled by the sudden assault, Kagami jumped backwards, tripping over branches and falling to the ground with a low thud. His russet eyes were tightly shut, too scared to face the creature that was about to devour him. “ _Damn, I wish I haven’t left the den!_ ” he cried to himself, still in his place, waiting the attack of the many claws and teeth on him. He heard the crack of a branch and the almost inaudible steps going towards him and he wondered what his mother would do if she knew he was eaten by a monstrous beast. “ _If I don’t die here, she certainly will devour me!_ ”

There was a moment of silent, Kagami feeling the warmth of the monster’s breath while sniffing him, probably deciding where to start eating him, but when long whiskers lightly tickled in his snout, Kagami couldn’t hold the sneeze that came out of his pink nose. He regretted. Now the monster was going to devour him in one bite!

His body was almost shaking in fear when he heard a chuffing sound and in a second his eyes were wide open. And he was surprised by what he saw before him.

It had black fur covering its whole body and a pair of glowing yellow eyes was staring at him – and it seemed that those eyes were the only color in it besides the deep black. It seemed to be as surprised and curious as Kagami and the little tiger cub blinked its chestnut eyes.

The black furry thing was even the same size as him!

Kagami was once more astonished and when he heard the low chuff again he raised his black and orange ears. It was coming from the creature!

This time he was deeply curious and the fear he felt one minute ago had vanished. Standing up again, he warily got closer. Now that he was close and paying full attention… He could see a pair of tiny, furry ears on the top of the creature’s head and also a very long and equally black tail swinging behind the its little body. It had small paws very similar to his too.

The creature was like him in different colors! But _what_ was it?

The small, black furred creature stood up and came close, making the little tiger cub jolt in surprise. It seemed to ignore his fear and sniffed his snout, his short paws and furred ears. Then it stared at him, still confused about what it just sniffed.

“ _What are you?_ ” it asked.

Kagami looked surprise, his tail shaking.

“ _I’m a Bengal tiger,_ ” he said in a chuff. “ _The name is Kagami._ ”

“ _A Bengal tiger?_ ”

Kagami moved his black and orange ears, showing his small teeth and short claws. Yes, he was a tiger!

“ _And what are you?_ ”

“ _I’m a panther. A black panther_ ”

“ _A panther?_ ”

They were silent for a short moment before the panther showed his teeth and claws, which were exactly like Kagami’s.

“ _My name is Aomine._ ”

They were silent once again, but now the silence was longer. They were so surprised that they couldn’t take their eyes away from each other, various thoughts going through their mind so fast that they forgot they hit each other head. Well, until the shrill stridulation that caused their meeting sounded again. Both felines looked away, paying attention to the grasshopper that jumped on the stone near them, and once again they were driven by their natural instincts, lowering their small bodies and looking at each other, seeing a sparkle of a challenge glow in their eyes.

The one who gets the grasshopper first wins!

They started to move. Bellies almost touching the ground and paw behind paw, they decreased the distance between them and the big insect, that was still stridulating its long legs, unaware of the imminent attack. The panther cub stopped and lightly shook his tail, glowing yellow eyes focusing on the grasshopper, about to attack when a sudden noise came to his ears and when he turned his head, he saw the tiger cub pouncing on the grasshopper, who jumped away. Hissing, Kagami started pursuing the insect again, running around the clearing. “ _What_   _is he doing?_ ” thought the panther, confused by the sudden attack. He wasn’t expecting that, but when he saw the tiger jumping and waving his paws to capture the grasshopper, he understood. He was doing his best to win!

The sides of his mouth crooked, like a smile, and he went to the attack too. Running as fast as he could, the panther and the tiger were chasing the grasshopper through stones, trees, fallen logs and tall grass. When both of them were breathless, the insect landed on the edge of the small pond.

Still taking the challenge seriously, they quietly walked towards the big grasshopper, that seemed to be tired of jumping around, trying to run away from the cubs.

They positioned themselves, focusing only in their target. Waving tails and short claws digging in the soft ground, they let their hunter senses emerge once again, shivers of anticipation running down their spines, and when they were about to attack, a sudden noise came from the pond, and a sticky, long tongue appeared, catching the grasshopper and pulling the insect to the mouth of a frog, who bit the insect and ate it as fast as it attacked and then disappeared in the murky water once again.

They blinked their eyes in shock, paralyzed. They weren’t expecting that, and by the sudden attack, they realized that they would do the same to the now devoured grasshopper.

Noticing what he was about to do, Kagami cowered, his ears twitching and wrapped his tail around his hind paws. Although he was a tiger, one of the most fearsome hunters in the world, the idea of killing wasn’t sounding good to him right now.

Seeing that his prey was gone, Aomine straightened. His glowing yellow eyes staring at the pond, as if he was waiting for the grasshopper to return from the dark water, jumping on the rocks and run away from them again. After a quiet moment, he narrowed his eyes.

The grasshopper wasn’t coming back anymore. He was dead, and they knew it.

Then, he heard a low snuffle and turned to the tiger cub, who was staring at the pond, eyes wide open and tail twitching by his side, nervously. He tilted his head to the side, confused. He wasn’t quite sure why the tiger was scared of, but he wasn’t let him in that way.

Standing up, he walked to his side and still confused about what to do, he patted the tiger’s head – maybe a bit harder than he intended – and when the other cub raised his head to look at him, the little panther crooked his mouth and knocked their heads together, trying to encourage him.

“ _Let’s go. I wanna play!_ ” he meant in his crude way.

But the other cub seemed to not understand. Aomine narrowed his eyes.

“ _I bet you’re so weak you can’t catch me!_ ”

And he was satisfied when the other feline reacted to his challenge.

“ _Who did you call weak?!_ ”

Aomine lifted his chin in an arrogant way, looking down on the tiger.

“ _You. Are you also deaf?_ ”

Irritated, Kagami jumped on him in an attempt to capture the black panther, but Aomine was faster than he thought and ran away from his reach area, swigging his tail in a tease.

And they spent a good 10 minutes chasing each other, sometimes Kagami biting the long black tail and Aomine jumping on the tiger’s back. They were almost breathless when a deep roar was heard from the forest, calling. It was Kagami’s mother. She had returned from the hunt. Kagami hadn’t realized how long he was away from the den when his own belly roared, in protest from the long time without food. He felt embarrassed, frowning in a way that the odd strips of his face looked like eyebrows. Aomine curled his tail, his yellow eyes glowing even more with the sight. The tiger was really interesting!

Kagami took some steps away from Aomine, who was lying on the tall grass after being thrown to the ground with a powerful jump from the other cub. They shook their heads to get rid from the dirty and stared at each other.

“ _Come back tomorrow,_ ” the panther finally said in a chuff, his long tail swinging “ _today was fun!_ ”

“ _Okay!_ ” the tiger replied with another chuff, patting the panther elbow. He agreed to meet again without a second thought.

The panther then knocked their heads together once more.

“ _See you!_ ”

And they went to separate ways, both cubs coming back to their den thinking about what they’ll do in the next day.

 

In the next day, however, Kagami was reluctant to go too far from the den and his mother’s territory. After coming back that day, the tigress was waiting nervously for him, the prey lying on the ground like an unimportant thing. That day, when he returned, he knew he would be scolded and waited for the bites in his ears like his mother always did when he didn’t behave well, however, she only told him in a dark tone.

“ _Don’t leave the den. The humans are here and are hunting every animal of this forest._ ”

He didn’t understand what she meant, but he got scared.

In the next day, he left the den to meet Aomine again, now a bit more aware of his surroundings than ever before. He had never seen a human before, but his mother told him a lot about them. They were horrible creatures, destroying everything they could.

He wasn’t afraid of them, but the look in his mother eyes was serious. He felt that not even she, the greatest tigress of that forest, could stop them.

When he arrived at the clearing from the day before, he was alone. There was no sigh of the black panther he met. He looked around, looking for his presence, but not even the glow of yellow eyes he found. Despondent, he was about to leave when a sudden roar was heard and before he could turn around, a sudden weight pressed him down to the ground.

He heard a low chuff. “ _I bet you thought I wasn’t here!_ ” and a black head knocked against his.

His chestnut eyes were wide open when he turned his head to look at the black panther sitting in his back. Black and orange ears agitated and he stood up, the panther getting out of him.

“ _You’re here!_ ”

“ _Of course I am, moron_ ” the panther looked as arrogant as before, but his black tail was curled in a happy gesture.

The tiger’s eyes narrowed.

“ _I am not a moron! You’re a moron!_ ” he growled.

Aomine seemed to enjoy his reaction and nudged his elbow with his black paw.

“ _Then catch me if you can do it, moron!_ ”

And they soon were playing again, running through the field. Their tails swinging happily and their mouths crooked in joyful smiles.

Both of them thought they could be like this forever, even if they kept provoking and calling each other names. They were happy, and playing together was their favorite part of the day. And without realizing other days came, one by one; they kept meeting each other at the clearing. They rapidly became friends. The tiger cub coming to meet the panther cub every single day and playing around until they were both tired, and when they couldn’t stand anymore, both would just lie next to each other and play with the other’s tail until one of their mother called them back.

Then, the panther would say: “ _Let’s meet tomorrow too!_ ” in a low chuff, biting to the tiger’s ears, and the tiger would reply: “ _Yes! Let’s play again!_ ” and knocking their heads together, they confirmed to each other they would come back.

Slowly, the warning of his mother was vanishing from his mind and Kagami thought proudly “ _I won’t let the humans destroy anything anymore. I’m a tiger.  I can stop them!_ ”

He was so happy. Aomine was his best friend, and no one would get in their way. They will play every day for their entire life. Kagami couldn’t hold his happiness.

But he didn’t know this happiness was about to be crushed.

 

One rainy morning, Kagami woke up with the growl of his mother lying next to him. He looked at her with confused eyes and she returned the look and quietly said:

“ _It’s raining, so the deers aren’t in the meadow now. They’re protecting themselves under the leaves of the trees, so it’s difficult to hunt. I will wait._ ”

He blinked and yawned, still surrounded by the fog of sleep. His mother made herself comfortable and laid her head on her paws. It took a moment before she fell asleep. The cub stared at her for a while and then, very quietly, he snuck out the cavern and stretched a little before making his way to the familiar clearing. In his way, his mouth crooked a little, imagining how the clearing was when it was raining, and wondered if there had many insects there, enjoying the wet weather. He growled with the feeling of his fur sticking together as the raindrops fell from the skies, but he loved the feeling of the mud in his paws. He would surprise Aomine by putting his dirty paws on his face!

When Kagami arrived at the clearing, he stopped walking and looked around. The clearing was very dark, and the usually green and tall grass was now almost black. The pond was merely a black stain in the landscape, and he couldn’t hear the sounds of any bugs. It wasn’t like he imagined at all.

Twitching his snout, he entered in the clearing in cautious steps, looking around. He didn’t like the feeling of the place either, and wanted to find Aomine as fast as possible so they could play in another place. Maybe they could go to the meadow, since there weren’t any deers that morning.

He sniffed the air, trying to trace the well known scent of the panther, but he couldn’t smell at all, the rain hampering for him. Then, a little hesitant, he called Aomine in a low call, his ears focusing in every sound around him, but he didn’t have any answer. He called again, now walking around the clearing, but all he could hear was the dripping sound of the rain. He was getting nervous, anxious for a reply for his calls, but he couldn’t hear anything. He was alone.

He walked to the fallen log and sit next to it. Maybe Aomine hasn’t arrived yet, he thought. Curling his tail around his hind paws and feeling his elbows shivering a little with the cold raindrops, he waited. He didn’t know how long he would wait for the panther to come, but waited patiently. They promised they would play today as well!

In the middle of his waiting, though, a sudden sound was heard in the forest and Kagami raised his ears, alert to the strange sound. It was like a sudden thunder, and he could also hear the screams of birds. Kagami frowned, the odd stripes in his face looking again like eyebrows. He stood quietly in his spot, waiting for a next sound, but there was none.

Feeling uneasy, he stood up and ignoring the extra weight in his body because of the his wet fur, he started heading to the dark forest, his senses telling him to be cautious and quiet. In the depth of that forest, there was something wrong. He had to do something. What if something bad happened to him, his mother or the panther—

A sudden roar made the tiger cub flinch and a familiar weight threw him to the ground, the chuff coming to his ears like a whistle, vanishing his thoughts to somewhere else.

“ _Aomine?_ ” Kagami asked, turning his head to look at the black panther on top of him. The panther purred, swinging his tail.

“ _It’s like the first day!_ ” the yellow eyes were glowing at him, a lot more than ever before. Distracted by their glow, Kagami remained silence and Aomine took it as a sign of confusion. “ _Our first meeting, dumbass!_ ”

The insult made Kagami pay attention to the panther again, his face frowning.

“ _You called me what?!_ ” he growled, showing his short teeth.

The panther chuffed and jumped to his side, letting the other cub to stand up. Noticing the anger in the chestnut eyes, Aomine continued:

“ _We first meet in here, in this fallen log. You were chasing a grasshopper and we knocked our heads. You don’t remember?_ ” the panther explained, his long black tail curling behind him like a dangerous snake. Kagami blinked and then shook his head, raindrops falling from his fur.

“ _I remember,_ ” he finally said, looking at the other “ _but why are you saying this all of a sudden?_ ”

The panther seemed to be caught in surprise, because he widened his yellow eyes at the tiger, who remained silent, looking at him. Then, in a low sigh, the panther avoided the chestnut eyes by looking at the dark pond.

“ _I don’t know._ ” he replied, chin lift in an arrogant way, and then saying teasily “ _but what I know is that I wanted to jump on your back again. You look like a defenseless prey sometimes, Kagami, so I can’t hold myself from pouncing on you, dumbass. Maybe someday I’ll even eat you up if you don’t take care of yourself!_ ”

Kagami blinked in confusion. He hated when the panther changed subjects so suddenly, but he understood the insult to him once again and growled.

“ _You’re the dumbass one here!_ _And I’m not a defenseless prey!_ ”

“ _Is that so?_ ”

_“I’ll show you!”_ Kagami stood up, closing the distance between them “ _I’ll show you that I’m strong!_ ”

Aomine watched him coming closer, his eyes glowing in excitement.

“ _Then show me all you’ve got, tiger!_ ”

And they started to fight. Of course, they weren’t using their claws, or biting too hard, but they were throwing punches and growling as if they were seriously fighting. It was fun, and they could test their strength, so the two cubs enjoyed fighting with each other – and if they unintentionally hurt the other, they would say sorry and rub their heads –. That was how they were, and it was always fun.

In the middle of the fight, however, Aomine managed to get away from Kagami and run to the other side of the clearing. The tiger cub watched him with a puzzled look, swinging his black and orange tail.

When they were in opposite sides, Aomine stopped and turned around, inflating his chest.

“ _Let’s run and jump in the air like the adults do!_ ” he said.

“ _Why?_ ” Kagami asked.

“ _Because it’s fun, duh!_ ” Aomine rolled his eyes, and then put himself in the attack position, narrowing his eyes like his mother used to do when hunting. He was focusing so much in Kagami, and only in him, that he didn’t notice he was standing in a bunch of edelweiss.

Neither the suddenly and strange noise behind him.

But Kagami did.

In the middle of the rain, Kagami noticed a shadow growing behind the panther, and then a little sparkle. Losing his composure, Kagami raised his ears in alert, his eyes widening. There was something terrible wrong with that strange scent, and also the sparkle with it.

“Aomine! Run!”was what he wanted to say, but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw what was that shadow.

It wasn’t large, but tall and slim. It was wrapped in weird things and the sparkle was coming from a long, dark tube that it carried. Its skin was pink and hairless. And Kagami could feel the dangerous vibe emanating from it, which was getting closer and closer to Aomine.

Noticing the odd behavior from the tiger across the clearing, Aomine narrowed his puzzled eyes and opened his mouth to ask what was the problem, but then he heard a crack behind him and froze, the black fur of his neck bristling. He slowly turned back, widening his eyes when he saw what was behind him. And the thing was looking right at him.

The strange and dangerous creature came closer, the raindrops dripping from the weird thing wrapping its whole body, and it took off the long tube it was carrying in its elbow. He seemed to analyze Aomine, and then its mouth crooked in a sick smile.

“It seems that today I won’t bring home only deers,” Said the man, looking at the black panther at his feet. He heard there was a female black panther in that forest, and he was looking for her, but instead he found her cub.

That wasn’t that great, but it would do.

Aomine was crowed in his place, trying to be stay still in his spot. He didn’t know why, however. He should run away while he still could, but he was paralyzed with fear, his eyes looking at the creature in front of him.

Kagami couldn’t move either, or call Aomine. He didn’t know what to do, but was trembling with fear.

The man took his shotgun from his elbow and checked the ammo, and then pointed it at Aomine. “You’re so small, though… If I do too much damage you will be useless…” the man pondered with himself, still looking at the cub.

The brief moment when the thing in front of him seemed to stop, Aomine turned his head back to look for Kagami and when he found the tiger cub lying on the ground, covered by dark mud and tall and wet grass, Aomine realized that he had to save his friend. He wouldn’t let the monster in front of him capture Kagami too.

Swinging his tail to catch the tiger’s cub attention, Aomine growled very low.

“ _Go away, Kagami!_ ”

The tiger didn’t seem to understand his sign.

“ _Run! Run away, don’t stay here any longer or he’ll catch you!_ ” his yellow eyes were glowing at his direction, and Kagami froze.

“ _I can’t leave you here!_ ”

“ _But he’ll find you if you don’t go now!_ ”

“ _I won’t leave you, Aomine!_ ” Kagami narrowed his chestnut eyes, growling.

Aomine shivered. He wanted to run away from there, with Kagami, and be safe… But then he heard a click and when he turned back to the creature, he saw the long tube pointing at his face.

“I’ll shoot you in the face. Your skeleton won’t be valuable, after all” he said, but Aomine nor Kagami understood, but they felt the horrible feeling from the sounds the creature murmured.

And bam!, he shot.

But Aomine jumped and quickly started to run to Kagami’s direction, and when he saw what just happened, he also started running, the panther and the tiger running away from the human, who cursed.

“I’m wasting ammo, you disgusting animal!”

And both of them entered in the forest, and side my side, they came down the hill, often slipping and tripping over twigs and fallen, wet leaves. They ran as fast as they could, and when they felt their lungs ache, they stopped. That region of the forest was unknown for them, and they looked around anxiety, still shivering of fear. They could hear the human following them, and they needed a place to hide as fast as possible.

“ _Quick, we need to hide! He’s coming!_ ” the panther’s weep was painful, and the tiger cub couldn’t think of anything else than to protect them. He looked around, battling with his anxiety, and then, a bit ahead of them, he found a hollow log fallen to the ground.

“ _There!_ ” he shouted and started to running, surprising the panther who looked at him for a moment before running after him.

Even if the mud was making him slip, Kagami ran as fast as he could, his eyes focusing in the log, the hideout, the safe place that would save their lives. He was almost grinning, feeling his heart pounding in his ribcage in relief.

“ _Almost there, Aomine!_ ”

“ _Keep running, Kagami!_ ” the panther panted at him, his voice weak, but Kagami didn’t notice.

“ _We’re gonna be safe!_ ” he shouted happily.

They ran.

And Kagami jumped on the log, hiding inside at the same time a loud thunder exploded in the sky, making his ears buzz by the loud noise. He closed his eyes and sighed heavy, feeling his paws trembling and his chest aching. He had never ran so fast before or was so relieved to be in a fallen log. The feeling was great, to be safe!

“ _We made it, Aomine! We’ve escaped!_ ” Kagami purred, looking around, but when he saw himself alone inside the moist log, he felt a shiver through his small body.

Aomine wasn’t there.

He slowly left the log, his eyes looking around. Where was he? Aomine was right behind him when he last saw him, but now there was no sight of the black panther cub. The relief and happiness he felt a second ago was already vanished as he kept looking around, the rain making a curtain of fog around the area.

Then he heard a crack, and turned his head to where the sound came from, his ears pointing in alert to it.

“ _Aomine—_ “ he called, but then a shadow quickly grow in the middle of the bushes. That shadow wasn’t Aomine, and Kagami quickly hid inside the log again, watching it.

“Tch, what a waste of ammo… Two fucking bullets!” he growled, standing up and putting his shotgun in his elbow again. He wiped the dirty of his hands and looked at his feet for a moment. “But I think this was worth it. I got you, after all.”

And bending over, he picked the small, furred body in his hands, wiping the dirty from its black fur and looked at it.

“Thank God you twisted your paw, hm? Or I couldn’t have shoot you, little panther”

The dead body in the man’s hand was drenched by the heavy rain, the red blood dripping from Aomine’s head.

“I hope I can still use you for something, if only to be wallet or something.” He laughed and throw the panther’s cub inside his bag. He coughed and spit the mucus on the ground. “Ah… I’m tired. Let’s go back home, little kitty.”

And he left under the gaze of Kagami, still hiding in the log, and now, frozen in fear and shock.

Aomine was caught.

He didn’t even come close to their hiding place.

And now he was lying at the bottom of that bag, dead.

A painful weep came from the tiger cub, tears dripping from his chestnut eyes as Kagami left the hideout, walking to where the human was. He found another bunch of edelweiss, but this time the white flowers were stained in red, and a small pool of blood was beneath them. The smell of it was bitter and painful, but the soft soil smelled like Aomine. Kagami deeply sniffed, closing his eyes for a moment, his mind locking deeply in it the smell of his friend, his black fur and the glowing yellow eyes. Standing up again, Kagami looked at the blood and ran away.

That was the last time he felt Aomine’s scent. And it was painful.

 

In the next morning, a vet from the near city around that forest was driving in a dirt road with her jeep when she found a tiger cub fallen in the road’s edge. Shocked, she rescued the small cub, which was unconscious and very scrawny. Worried about him, she took the cub with her to the veterinarian hospital, and the whole staff quickly prepared the equipments to take care of the poor animal.

He was dehydrated, hunger and exhausted.

They managed to take him back to conscious, but when he realized where he was, the cub crowed in a ball and didn’t let anyone get near him. The woman and the other vets thought he was scared, and left him alone for a while. But days passed and the cub was still growling and scratching everyone who tried to come closer to him, his eyes glowing in fear and anger.

The vets found it weird, but kept feeding him.

But then, the cub stopped eating, and would only stay silent in the cage in the backyard of the veterinarian hospital, looking at the mountain.

It didn’t take much time for his body to be starving and very weak, but he was still refusing everyone and the food.

In 8 days, the tiger cub died.

The staffs found him curled at the bottom of the cage with wet eyes.

Kagami also died, not by a shotgun, but of the sadness.

He just missed Aomine so much.


	2. The second meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 12 years old boys having fun in the summer of 45'.

In that summer day the sun was high on the skies and no cloud could be seen, only the fast seagulls carrying fishes in their pecks. The weather was cool, chilly winds making the boy’s red hair flutter as he kept running down the hills, sliding in the tall grass and heading to the big house near the shore as fast as he could. He was early, but the other boy could be already up and getting their boat ready to the fishing. There was no need to rush, but feeling so eager like that he couldn’t do anything but keep running until he smiled with the sight of the roof of brown tiles right ahead, the vastness of the rice fields behind it.

He stopped at the front door and exhaled heavily before straightening his back. The redhead walked to the entrance of the house and knocked lightly. _“I hope I haven’t made him wait too long…”_ he prayed in his mind, waiting for someone to welcome him.

But no one came, what made the boy frown his odd shaped browns and knock once more, a bit louder this time.

“What the hell... Had he already left?!” he questioned himself, his voice blended in concern and disbelief.

He was about to call him when the sound of cracking branches came from a tree near him, as something heavy landed on them. He narrowed his eyes and approached, a little cautious. He heard about some wild raccoons that would jump on people to scratch their faces and steal their food.

Or maybe just to scare them. He didn’t know exactly, but he didn’t like raccoons anyway. Just like dogs.

With cautious steps, he raised his chestnut eyes to study the green leaves of the tree, expecting something to jump on him as he couldn’t see anything above the shorter branches.

A silence was built around him for a moment until a voice spoke:

“There’s no one to meet you at the door.” The voice was soft and a bit lazy, and Kagami frowned.

“What—“

As he opened his mouth to ask who was there, the branches cracked violently when a body jumped from them, landing on the ground smoothly with a low thud, making the redhead boy scream and jump in surprise, almost falling to the ground.

“Wow, don’t you have good manners, Bakagami? That’s not how you greet your best friend, you know?”

By hearing that insult, he raised his head and looked straight to the other boy, who was staring at him with his hands on his hips, seeming a bit annoyed.

“Aomine?”

“Who else could be? Don’t you dare mistake me with someone else, Bakagami. There’s no one in Earth that is as great and amazing as me—“

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU, YOU IDIOT?” he shouted and threw the bucket he was carrying at the boy, who was quick enough to avoid getting hit. The bucket fell near two fishing rods propped against the house’s wall.

“Whoa, what was that for?” he frowned.

“You scared me, Ahomine!” his reply was angry, his odd shaped brows frowned. “What were you doing in that tree?!”

“I was hunting for cicadas, but I still can’t find them,” he explained in a calm tone, looking at the redhead in front of him. “Maybe they got scared with you face.” And he smirked teasingly. Kagami gritted his teeth but quickly smiled.

“Well, I wasn’t the one up there, jumping around like a crazy monkey with this scary face like I was about to devour the poor cicadas, was I?”

Kagami burst in laughter and Aomine glared at him, like a panther about to pounce on its prey.

But he merely marched up the boy and pointed a finger at him. “I don’t eat cicadas. They’re my friends! I eat crayfishes and lobsters, and that’s why we are here today. Let’s go fishing, Bakagami!”

And he quickly grabbed the fishing rods, giving one to the redhead.

“I knew you would only bring a bucket because you’re an idiot, so I’ll lend you this one.”

Kagami blushed. “T-That’s because I don’t have a fishing rod yet… And I’m not an idiot, moron!”

 

It didn’t take long for them to arrive on the beach, carrying a small wooden cart with their equipments as they argued about how many lobsters and crayfishes they would get; only stopping when the ocean breeze hit their faces.

Aomine walked down the pier until he found the small boat of his father, moving lazily in the calm waves on the shore. He left the cart and grabbed his fishing rod.

“Okay, Kagami! Let’s see who’s gonna get a banquet tonight.”

And he jumped into the boat, it creaking with the sudden weight. Kagami was more cautious, but soon they were aboard and ready to start their day.

Rowing to the coral where they knew the animals used to hide, the boys prepared their equipments and Aomine grabbed the long, old fishing net that was lying in the bottom of the cracking boat.

“Okay, you already know how to do that, right?” he eyes him with a serious look.

Kagami crossed his arms against his thin chest, staring annoyed at the bluenette.

“We’ve done this a lot of times. I’m not inexperienced!” he groaned.

“Woah, you’ve been reading a dictionary or what? Such beautiful words~”

“It’s just you that’s too stupid.”

Aomine rolled his eyes. “Well, since you’re such a good diver, let’s make a bet!” the dark-skinned boy enthusiastically proposed. “The one who gets more lobsters or crayfishes wins, and the loser has to grant one wish to the winner.”

Kagami’s chestnut eyes sparkled with interest. “One wish?”

“Hm”

“Any wish?”

“Hmm” Daiki nodded, the look in the redhead’s eyes making him smile mischievously. “Not that you’ll win or something, but yeah… It can be any wish.”

Taiga frowned in annoyance. Aomine was arrogant and he’s very aware of this since they met, but sometimes there were times he really wanted to kick him back to his senses. Gosh, Kagami should win a prize for being so patient!

Although he was so incredibly idiot, Kagami could never get mad at Aomine.

As much as he pissed him off, every moment they spent together, the time was trivial and every new day was more fun than the last. And if Kagami was feeling down or frustrated, Aomine never failed to bring the light back to his face.

Sometimes, his smile was just enough.

Other times, Aomine would just knock their heads together and shout to Kagami to get his shit together. Aomine was the only one to piss him off so much, but also the only one to make him feel better too. How could he get mad at him?

But of course, that doesn’t mean he can’t catch more lobsters than Aomine and dishonor his soul and break his enormous pride. He’s gonna be the winner!

Kagami clenched his fists and looked at the bluenette in determination.

“Let’s do it!”

Aomine grinned, pleased. His dark skin was beautifully shining under the sun, but his midnight blue eyes glowed as much as the own moon.

The fire of challenge was already burning their skins when they jumped off the boat, which creaked at the same time their bodies splashed in the cold water of the sea.

 

The sea was quite calm that day, so it didn’t take too long until lobsters and crayfishes were captured by skillful hands and carried to the boat, where they were put in buckets filled with water. However, only Daiki’s bucket was filled with the crustaceans.

The bluenette panted, coming back from another diving, his left hand carefully holding another crayfish that was clicking its claws, as if it was trying to escape from the grip of the boy. He swam to the boat where he saw Kagami resting on it, half of his body still submerged.

He approached and stopped by his side, putting his crayfish in the bucket, who was greeted by other two, clicking their claws. “This one was tough!” he growled, putting the animals cautiously in the bucket. “It almost got my nose!” joked, resting at Kagami’s side and flapping his legs in the water.

But when the later didn’t laugh, he turned to him and noticed his sulk face. “What’s wrong? You got scratched?” the redhead shake his head and then stared at his bucket. Following his eyes, Aomine raised his head and took a peek at it and immediately raised his brows. “Wow! What’s this? You didn’t get any!”

“I know that!” Kagami shouted in annoyance.

Aomine chuckled. “No luck today, seaman?” he smiled slightly, but Kagami remained quiet. The bluenette boy stared at him for a moment, a bit worried. He shifted his gaze to his bucket full of lobsters and crayfishes clicking their claws, and then eyed the red-head again. “You… You can have one of mines. I’ll share with you for being such a hardworking guy!”

He once again failed to cheer him up, and now was truly worried. What’s he going to do now? He squeezed the edge of the boat, trying to think in something, not noticing the look in Kagami’s face.

The truth is that Aomine helped him already, and wasn’t irritated anymore. Of course, not being able to catch a single thing hurt his pride, but Daiki offering some of his lobsters and crayfishes was the last straw. He didn’t want the other’s pit just to feel better! He could catch the damn lobsters!

Confident and more courageous than before, Kagami took a long and deep breath and dived again, surprising the bluenette.

“Oi, Kagami! Where are you going?!” he shouted, but he was already gone.

He certainly would get something, or he wasn’t Kagami Taiga!

 

“YOU’RE CRAZY, KAGAMI! A CRAZY IDIOT, I TELL YOU!” Aomine’s voice was loud, but he looked exhausted – and drenched. “What you had in mind to do that?!” he turned to him with a grimace as they dragged a huge and furious lobster to the boat, Aomine pulling it from inside and Kagami pushing from outside, trying to avoid the salt water getting into his mouth.

“I wouldn’t allow myself to lose to you!” he shouted back, gasping in disgust when he swallowed a bit of water, his throat hurting. “And I wouldn’t allow you to share yours with me. I can get mine too!”

“Haaa? You did that just to prove yourself?” midnight blue eyes studied the red head with dismay and mahogany eyes glanced back, the fire in them still burning because of the early battle. “You’re certainly an idiot, Taiga.” Aomine taunted while the redhead got in the boat.

“Shut up.” he muttered, avoiding the playfully glance of the bluenette on him. “I just… I…” he tried to explain but the words were stuck in his throat like salty water.

“You just caught the biggest lobster I’ve ever seen in my life. All alone!” the dark skinned boy finally said, wearing an excited grin.

“But you helped me…”

“The one found this monster,” he pointed at the lobster trapped in the fishing net, who clicked its claws in response.  “And got it out from that hole were you.”

“But you helped me to drag it into the boat before it could escape so…”

“Nah,” Daiki waved his hand. “I was only worried that you’d drown or get eaten by the lobster. You did the whole hard work.”

They fell in a silence, the tanned boy staring at the red head who was still panting and breathless.

He smiled slightly. “You… That was awesome!”

Kagami arched an eyebrow – having no idea how much Aomine loved that simple gesture of his weird brows – and blinked, surprised. He wasn’t expecting that compliment, since Aomine Daiki wasn’t one to compliment. He observed the bluenette kneeling in front of him with a weird look on his face.

No, not weird, but different. Red and blue eyes locking in each other, Taiga spotted a shy smile on Daiki’s lips. He seemed to think for a moment, a bit hesitantly, and then mumbled as if telling a secret that only both could share:

“Let’s be like this forever, Kagami. Fishing, exploring and playing together… Until we are both very old, so we can just sit together in the veranda and talk about our old adventures.” His smile widened a little. “What you think?”

Kagami really couldn’t bear this. He wasn’t the type to deal with sudden change of conversations, so always got flustered… But he couldn’t bear even more the fact that Aomine knew that, and right now was in front of him, watching him with an expectant look as if he hadn’t said anything weird.

In fact, that wasn’t weird for Kagami, but rather embarrassing…

Or was he embarrassed that his heart was beating against his ribcage harder than never before? Or that his face was getting hotter every passing second, and the tanned boy continued to look at him as if he was a painting?

Kagami was breathless, but not because of their previous diving.

“I…” words were suddenly leaving his mouth, but he didn’t know how. He felt engulfed in that midnight blue in front of him. “Umm… I think that sounds great.”

That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to say, but for Aomine that seemed to be enough as his smile widened on his face.

That was what Aomine needed, an agreement.

He snorted and sat in the wet bottom of the boat. Kagami glanced at him and didn’t notice when himself start smiling.

That was all they needed, after all.

Their laughters were interrupted by a sudden burst in the distance, and both looked away to the direction of the sound and, in the enormous blue sky, they saw a small plane flying in circles. It was beige and had long wings, with red dots painted on them.

The airplane engine made another loud sound, and a black and thick steam started to came out of it. They watched it fly and make noises until it landed in somewhere not so far away from there.

For an instance, Kagami was hypnotized by the airplane flying and spitting black smoke in the sky. He still could see the two red dots and hear the bursting noises, and almost smell the black smoke.

His mahogany eyes blinked.

In his mind, the airplane took form of a dragon, who staring at him with its two red eyes and bursting roars, black and thick smoke coming from its hidden mouth.

A hidden mouth that was about to devour them all.

“Oi, Kagami.”

He was slapped back to reality by Aomine’s call and turned to him, finding the dark-skinned boy already grabbing one rowing. “Let’s go.”

Taiga blinked a few times at him, but then sat at his side, grabbing the other one. “Yeah, let’s go back.”

 

“… And then he jumped off from the boat and plunged into the sea! It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen someone do, but he survived! And even brought this giant lobster with him!” the bluenette explained, agitated. He stopped and breathed in, his thin and flat chest inflating with air before continuing: “They fought and this lobster almost got his nose, but Kagami kicked it in the chin and then in the face and the lobster was like uuugh~ and Kagami was like yaaa! and then—“

“Stop it already,” the redhead interrupted his fantastic narration, a vein popping on his forehead. “You’re exaggerating things. I didn’t punch it, Ahomine!” The latter smirked mischievously and waved his legs.

They were sitting at the table in the kitchen, where a woman was finishing cutting some vegetables. She didn’t have the dark skin of her son, but her eyes were as blue as his. She smiled soft after throwing the colorful vegetables in the saucepan filled with boiling hot water.

“I’m glad you two had fun fishing.” She commented while drying her hands in her apron. “You were brave, Kagami! The sea is dangerous, and this lobster could have hurt you, but you managed to catch it. Congratulations!” she smiled to the redhead, who blushed lightly.

“T-Thanks, ma’am…” he thanked quietly, but his heart was loudly pounding inside his chest. He felt proud!

The woman then turned her back to the boys to stir the food, and Aomine took the chance to kneel in his chair and looked inside the bucket, where the huge lobster that Kagami had caught was. He studied it for a moment and then reached his hand, grabbing it carefully.

“What are you—“Taiga, who was watching him the whole time, frowned when the other grabbed the lobster and held it in front of his face. In a sudden movement, Aomine kissed the head of the crustacean lightly, and pulled his face quickly.

“W-WHAT WAS THAT?!” the boy of sun-kissed skin shouted, shocked.

“What?” returning the lobster to the bucket, Aomine looked at him. “I kissed it, didn’t you see?”

“Of course I saw it! But why did you do that?!”

“It looks cute, so I felt like kissing it.” he shrugged, but quickly stared at the reddish mahogany eyes with his midnight blues. “What? Are you jealous, Bakagami?” he inquired, wearing that usual smirk.

“What…? Jealous?”

“You want a kiss too?” Aomine tilted his head, amused. He absolutely adored making the other’s face turn red.

Kagami dropped his chin, wordless. He tried to say something back, but he couldn’t formulate any word, and as second ticked by and Aomine’s grin grew wider, he couldn’t even think straight.

“Stop teasing the poor boy, Daiki! Kagami, don’t mind him, he’s stupid.” The woman quickly turned to them, frowning to her son, who sat back in his chair. “Don’t be embarrassed for what this dumb boy says, Taiga. He’s just making fun of your—oh dear! Your hand!” she blurted, widening her eyes at the scratch on Taiga’s right hand.

He turned his eyes to it. “Oh… I think the lobster did hurt me a bit…” Kagami wandered, looking at the scratch. It wasn’t big, nor was bleeding, but his skin was reddish and the small abrasion weren’t good looking either.

“Daiki, quickly, take the medicine box! Kagami needs a bandage!” she demanded.

He widened his eyes, startled.

“It’s not necessary! It’s just a scratch—“

“Oi, Kagami! Let’s go!”

Being suddenly pulled from his chair, Kagami turned his head to find Aomine standing next to him with a small metallic box in one hand, the other holding his wrist. “We need to wash your hand!”

He didn’t even notice the latter leaving the kitchen to grab that stuff! _“He’s really fast…!”_ he thought, as the younger dragged him out from the kitchen, taking him to the backyard.

With no more excuses, he followed the tanned boy, the scratch on his hand now stinging a bit.

 

During their fishing the weather was hot and stuffy, but in the afternoon it got cool by wind, and the blue sky was filled with big, fat, white clouds, floating slowly like lazy whales. The boy couldn’t take his attention from them, as his eyes kept watching the slow pace of the cumulus while the other was finishing wrapping the bandages on his hand. With a satisfied sigh, he dropped the stuff inside the metallic box and sat down.

“It’s done. You can look already.”

Carefully, Kagami took his eyes from the clouds above his head to look at his hand, finding a well done bandage wrapped around his palm. It wasn’t tight and felt soft.

“Is it tight or itching?” Aomine asked, watching him closely. Taiga shook his head.

“No, it’s okay.” He said softly, examining his hand. They remained silent during the process, almost motionless, while the only sounds were from the wind bell and the leaves from the nearby trees. Kagami hated to see blood, not even from his own teeth when they fell, and it didn’t take long for Aomine to understand this detail about him, so he did his job as fast as he could, but still carefully.

Taiga touched the cloth softly and murmured shyly. “Thanks… For the help.”

“No problem. You’re not very bright to do a bandage—“

“I’m talking about the fishing today.”  Taiga interrupted him, now staring at his midnight blue eyes. “I—I wouldn’t be able to catch that lobster if you weren’t there, s-so…” he coughed, shifting on his place. “Thanks.”

Aomine was actually surprised for that, his eyes widening a little before his lips crooked into a smile.

“Not so soon, Bakagami. The next time we go fishing I’ll certainly catch a bigger lobster than that!”  He declared proudly, his eyes glowing in excitement, voice pouring in challenge.

“Don’t make me laugh! You can’t catch something bigger than that, Ahomine!”

“Don’t be stupid! Of course I can, I’m the amazing me!” he frowned. “And I’ll surely catch something bigger!”

Kagami snorted and crossed his legs in front of the dark-skinned boy, who was staring at him in challenge. “Bigger like what?” he grinned teasingly, seeing Daiki wrinkling his nose and lips.

“Bigger like that rock!” he pointed his finger to the rock a few meters from them, of the same size of a dog.

“You can just pick it up, moron!” Kagami laughed. “I’ll catch something bigger than you!”

“I’m not that big, idiot!” Aomine shouted, the frown in his forehead deepening. Kagami laughed amused. How can a 12 years old boy frown like that? He looked so much older when angry!

Aomine slammed his fist in the tatami. “I’ll catch something bigger than… Ehn…” he murmured as he tried to think of anything big, while Taiga watched his struggle. Then, after some seconds, the redhead slowly asked:

“Bigger than the Ki-87?”

A silence immediately fell upon them.

Midnight blue eyes averted their attention from the tatami to the redhead boy, staring blankly. Both were expressionless, air stuck in their lungs. They stared at each other in dead silence before blue eyes narrowed slowly, almost dangerously.

“Don’t say this again, Kagami.” Aomine growled, his young face contorting into a scowl, his lips crooked in a way that his fangs could be seen. “Don’t you ever dare say this again.”

“I’m sorry.” Kagami apologized breathless, looking away from him.

But Aomine huffed loudly, moving a bit away from the older boy and lying on the floor, his blue eyes staring at the wooden ceiling above their heads and then sighing, feeling tired all of a sudden.

He was tired of that war. Why things had to be like that?

“How long this mess will last? I’m tired of those planes and hearing that some town was bombed… Or that those Germans are invading places…” he stopped, thinking a little. “Do we really have to be part of it?”

Kagami blinked once, then twice, a bit startled with the sudden topic, but soon answered:

“They say it’s important…”

“Important my ass. Wars never solve anything. Only make things worse.” he frowned, remembering the sound of the engine of the warplane of earlier.

Kagami gulped as he remembered yesterday’s news. Tokyo was bombed and a lot of people died, even if the sirens had warned that the planes were coming. It was like nobody could escape, as if they fell on a huge trap, and it scared him.

“But you know, Kagami…” the sudden voice calling him made the red headed boy jerk in surprise, but the later seemed to not notice. “I wish I were big and strong, so I could stop this war… And then we could spend our days playing and fishing with no worries.” His voice sounded confidently, his teeth biting his lower lip. “I’d show to those bastards that this whole war is dumb.”

Taiga was once caught in surprise, but the bad feeling in his gut made him frown angrily at the boy lying before him.

“There’s no need for that, Aho.” He said slowly, getting the boy’s attention. “This war will be over soon, and everything will be okay.” he breathed in, clenching his fists on his legs. He stared at midnight blue eyes. “I promise you.”

They fell in another silence, but now of both expectation and thoughtful silence. Mahogany stared insistently at blue eyes, and after a long minute, a slight smile graced the corner of the younger’s lips.

“Then I’ll grow big and strong to fish a whale, while I leave you behind with the sardines.” he taunted.

Kagami raised his brows, lost by the sudden change of topics again, but clenched his teeth when he realized what that idiot was saying.

“As if you were able to do that, Ahomine!”

“Watch me” he sang.

Kagami growled and quickly stood up, coming near him with a raised fist, not caring if it was bruised. He would beat that guy until that annoying smirk disappeared from his face! But Aomine was also quick to stand up and before being hit; he stopped the other by holding his wrist.

“Idiot—”

“Don’t shout.” he mumbled and then placed a kiss in the redhead’s hand, the bandage against his lips tickling.

And also making Kagami blush.

Aomine looked up and caught the glimpse of his face tainted in red before Kagami could look away. He grinned.

“I knew it!” he laughed. “You really wanted a kiss!”

Taiga’s chin dropped, his voice stuttering when telling him to shut up.

They spent some minutes like that, Aomine teasing the blushing Taiga, who kept hitting him. When they lay on the wooden floor, with a hurt stomach and numb knuckles, Miss Aomine called both to eat. Of course, Kagami ate the whole huge crayfish alone, a bit shy with the amused glances towards him and the lightly smile on the tanned face of the boy next to him. And the bet was completely forgotten.

 

After an hour and three plates of lobster and something more that he didn’t pay much attention, Kagami was in his way back home, dragging the sole of his shoes lazily on the dusty road. His hand still covered with the bandage was carrying an orange popsicle and his mahogany eyes were staring at the night sky, feeling nostalgia. He gave another suck on the cold sweet, groaning in delight. The dark color of that sky always reminded him of the annoying brat living downhill, and he could say the stars were the permanent glow on his eyes.

He blushed a little and continued with his Popsicle.

Ah yes. Aomine and his mother made those, and before he left the boy gave him one.

_“You owe me one now!”_

_“Can’t you be a little gentle and give people things without asking for return?”_

_“No. At least, not with you.”_

He bit the frozen sweet and made a grimace, his teeth hurting a little, but groaning in delight. The mango popsicle melting in his tongue reminded him the whole day and Taiga couldn’t help but smile happily. That day was really fun!

“I hope we have days like this every day…” he said to himself in a low tone, sharing a secret with the night wind blowing in his fiery red locks. He kept eating the popsicle and staring at sky and soon was opening the gate of his house. The red bricks in the front wall and the yard of red and orange calendulas gave the residence a western look, but Kagami liked the view from his bedroom in the second floor and once Daiki said that _“this house looks funny like you”_.

He opened the front door and took off his shoes, placing them next to his mother‘s and father’s ones. He took a small breath before announcing loudly, “I’m home!”

It didn’t take much for a soft, feminine voice echo through the corridor, “Welcome back sweet” it sounded calm and the red-headed boy was already heading to its source when the voice added, now a bit hastily “Could you please come here? Your father and I want to talk about something very important with you.”

He arched a brow, its shape looking funnier on his forehead, exposed by the short fiery red hair.

Driven by curiosity, he rushed through the corridors until he found his parents sitting in the cream colored couch in the living room, next to each other and also looking kinda anxious. He didn’t like the message it surpassed, but stood there anyway. There was a brief silence before his mother, a slender woman with black bean locks and pale skin, waved a hand for him to come closer, smiling gently.

“Come here, dear, we have something to tell you.” she said softly, but Kagami could hear her voice tremble a little in worry.

He definitely didn’t like how that was going on, but he came closer anyway. When he was close enough, the slim hand of his mother rested on the top of his head, her long fingers running through his hair. She observed him for a moment and then said softly:

“You’re a good boy, Taiga” their eyes met and he frowned with her next words, “I’m sorry, but we need to do it, hm?”

“What do you mean mom?”

“What she’s saying…” this time it was his father’s round to speak, his heavy voice bringing the boy’s watchful gaze to him, a tall man with lightly tanned skin and locks of maroon hair, who wore a nervous look before continuing, “Is that… We’re leaving.”

“Leaving? This house? We found a new one?” he asked right away, blinking his mahogany eyes. His voice was filled with light excitement as he added, “a house near the shore?” the thought of leaving near to Aomine made him happier than ever.

The adults stared at their joyful son before the woman averted her eyes as her husband explained slowly:

“We’re leaving the country to run from the war.”

His father’s voice sounded like a tinnitus in his ears though, and Kagami’s expression froze in confusion. The man’s lips pressed together tightly, forming a thin line in his face. He gave his wife a quick gaze before facing his young son again.

“Taiga, this country is in danger. We need to run away before something terrible happens. I fear for our family, you understand?” he breathed in and took his son’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “We… We’re departing to America.”

America. That name wasn’t new, since sometimes he heard it in the radio, but the country was totally unknown for him. Was it far from Japan or near enough so he could travel back with one of those boats Aomine and he used to go fishing?

He widened his eyes when the blue-haired boy came to his mind and he quick grabbed his father’s pants, squeezing the cloth in his fingers as he looked at him.

“When?”

“W-What…?”

“When are we leaving?” he asked again, impatiently.

His father seemed to have lost his speech, so the feminine voice was heard again. “… At the end of this month.” She said quietly. Taiga widened his eyes at her, losing the grip of his father’s pants as his hands dropped to his sides.

Only four weeks left before leaving Japan. _And Aomine._

He took a step back, his gaze locked in the floor as he felt dizzy with the realization. The adults watched him carefully, afraid of his reaction, but after a minute of silence, the red-haired boy turned on his heels and stormed to the corridor.

“Taiga, wait!” his mother called him, but he didn’t stop. He climbed up the stairs and slammed the door of his bedroom shut behind him, his breath heavy and legs shaking. He gulped and looked around his room, finding that the window was open, the dark sky with shining stars in display. It resembled so much Daiki’s eyes that Kagami had to close the curtains before he dropped to his knees.

That night, Kagami went to bed late and feeling sick, his stomach churning and his mind overflowing with billions of thoughts. Before wrapping himself in a cocoon with his blankets, he found out in his school’s books that America was very, very far away from Japan, and was totally different too. He didn’t know a thing about the place, but what worried him the most was being there without Aomine by his side. What was he going to do? And he remained awake, alone with his thoughts and the sick feeling in his stomach until his mind was shot down by exhaustion. He didn’t have any dream and in the next day he left home early. 

Ignoring the roars of his hungry stomach, he was soon in the front gate of the bluenette’s house again. He called him and wasn’t hoping to be welcomed so soon, even more by Aomine himself, who still smelled like his bed and had rheum in the corner of his dark-blue eyes. To be honest, Kagami was hoping for an extra time to think on how to tell the news, but now, looking at Daiki rubbing his eyes while waiting for him to talk, the red-headed had no other choice to tell exactly what happened, without warm words.

Kagami didn’t know how was going to be his reaction, but prayed that it wouldn’t be so bad while he listened to his heart pounding in his ears.

 

A frustrated growl sounded behind him, and the boy gave a small chuckle before turning his gaze to his friend behind him. "You're awful at this, did you know?"

"Shut up!" Kagami growled before standing on his feet again, his body swinging softly as he regained balance. Feeling safe again, he looked up at him with a frown, "what are we even doing here?"

"Didn't I say we were going to climb the mountains, Bakagami?"

"Ah," his gaze averted to the ground swallowing his feet again, the soft and wet soil making it hard for him to walk. "What a stupid idea."

Aomine raised a brown, a nonchalant look on his face. "You just say that because you know you're looking stupid for stumbling and falling every two minutes like this. So stop whining and let's keep going, moron" and he turned around again.

"Damn..." Kagami cursed under his breath, trying to not lose his balance as he followed the younger boy, his feet getting stuck in the thick mud again. _You make it seem so easy, Aho,_ thought him as he watched Aomine quickly climbing up the mountain, guiding them to _an awesome place_ , as he said. He grunted when his right foot got stuck in a tree's root, almost making him fall again. "I hope this place is really worthy this suffering of mine, Ahomine!"

"You bet it is, Bakagami!" Aomine's voice came puffy and energetic, his feet slipping a bit in the wet leaves sprawled on the ground. "Shit... It's quite difficult when the ground is wet like this..."

"Hah, so I'm not the only one looking stupid here!" Kagami laughed in pure delight, catching up the younger boy and elbowing his side. "If you claim that I'm so bad at this, let's see who's the one to reach the top first!"

Aomine blinked, midnight blue eyes staring at the challenging look in the mahogany's before smiling. "Bring it on!"

And soon the mountains with dark green forests were filled with the sounds of mischievous laughters and bodies slipping and falling of two competitive boys.

 

"Let's not do this ever again. I feel like I'm about to die," he panted heavily, closing his lids and placing his hands on his knees, his head falling between thin shoulders. "Are we there yet?"

A tired gasp was heard next to him, followed by a drawn-out grunt. They spent some minutes like that, catching their breathes and waiting the ache in their limbs stop. Then, Aomine sighed and snorted: "If you open your eyes you'll know, idiot."

Kagami grunted and opened his eyes slowly, still tired and panting. He was about to responding to the insult when he raised his head, his chin dropping in the same second.

An astonished wow was all he could verbalize and Daiki's laugh reached his ears. "Pretty cool, huh?"

He never went to the mountains during the morning, and the completely different landscape took his breath. Compared in the afternoons, the sunlight during the morning was dim and soft, the leaves in the trees glowing and waving with the breeze. The ground there had a rich, impregnating smell, and was, for Kagami’s relief, a lot more harder and covered with dark leaves and some brown twigs, which cracked with the slight movement. That view was totally different from the one that Taiga was used to see during the day, and the boy was so amazed by the calmness in that small part of the mountain that he didn’t notice Aomine moving until he sucked in his breath. Turning his red head, he found him crouched to the ground.

“The water is still a bit cold,” he whispered, more to himself than to the other, but the older boy heard him. “But I guess this is fine. The water of this stream does not take long to warm up in the sunlight.” And whipped his wet hands in his white t shirt.

And right before his eyes, a long stream in the middle of that mountain appeared like magic, its water singing quietly while passing by dark rocks, covered with moss. Kagami gasped.

“There’s a stream here in this mountain?!” his eyes widened a bit as he took some steps forward. Aomine turned his head of dark blue locks, narrowing his eyes to the surprised readhead.

“Of course there is, Bakagami. You just realized this now?” he raised a brown and stood up again. “Pay more attention to your surroundings, dumbass Kagami!”

Taiga felt his cheeks burn hot, but didn’t look away from the stream. It was quiet and the water was clear and shining with the dim light. Now that he was noticing other things in that place – not that because Aomine told him so –, he also could hear faint birdsongs in the distance and the whistle of the wind, a lot more cold in the top of the mountains than in the shore, blowing their hairs and making leaves dance in their branches.

Lips parted and mahogany eyes blinking, the older boy whispered: “This place is incredible!”

“Isn’t it?” Daiki grinned, placing a hand on his hip and taking a look around. “You never visited the mountains in the morning before, so I wanted to take you here and show this place to you for the first time!” he quickly glanced to the boy besides him, who was still amazed, his eyes glowing like never before. _“The sun totally lost to this guy now”_ , thought Aomine, glancing at the bright eyes of the red head who contemplated the place a little more before turning to him. “Did you like it?” he asked, seriously curious to know what the other thought about the place. It was the first time they did something like visiting a new place together, so he was feeling a bit anxious. _But_ _just a little bit_.

“It’s amazing, of course!” Taiga replied with a wide smile, his heart pumping excited in his chest. That was a new sensation for him, but he welcomed it gladly. “How did you discover this place? And why you didn’t tell me until now Aho?!” his voice rose louder and the tanned boy quickly covered his mouth with one hand, frowning at him.

“Be quiet for a bit, idiot.” He mumbled and took a step near the redhead, his hand still over the other’s mouth. “We never did something other than playing around and going to the sea, so I thought this place was unimportant…” he stopped to think a little, blue eyes stuck in reds. “But this morning I had a feeling that it was a good idea to take you here, y’know?” he finished, taking his hand away.

Kagami stayed silent for two or three seconds before speaking again, now with a taunting grin on his sun-kissed face.

“You had a feeling? Don’t make me laugh, Aho! You’re too dumb for things like that!” his grin grow wider as he tried to suppress a laughter in his throat.

The scowl on Daiki’s face appeared for the first time that day, his eyes sharpening. “Am I dumb?” he repeated, catching the other’s attention, “I wasn’t the one just now looking around like a retard just because of a stream and some trees. You’re just like a kid, Bakagami!”

“We’re both kids, Ahomine!” he barked at him, slowly forgetting the breathtaking place where they stood to focus on the arrogant tanned boy. He frowned deeply, which took a laugh from the later. “What is that?!”

“Your brows are really stupid. They were totally made for you.”

“Shut up! They are not weird!”

“Totally weird!”

“I’ll break your face if you keep laughing, Ahomine!”

Aomine took his breath again and grinned at Taiga.

“Then let’s do something already, idiot. The water might have warmed up by now!”

Taiga raised one brown. “So what? What are we gonna do?”

“Swim, of course!” he replied as a matter of factly, grabbing the collar of his t shirt from behind his neck and pulling it in a smooth move. “Don’t be afraid of some cold water and let’s go!” and threw his t shirt on the redhead’s face, running to the stream.

“What— HEY! Wait up!” and Taiga quickly followed him, struggling with his own orange t shirt before jumping into the warm-but-almost-cold water of the stream, screeching and squeezing his eyes a little.

He heard an amused laugh and opened his mahogany eyes, finding the dark skinned boy sitting in the water comfortably and almost entirely soaked, his dry blue locks still dancing with the blowing wind. Taiga blinked slowly, suddenly thinking how the dark skin of the boy looked interesting. Misshapen spots of lights from the tree’s leaves fell on the stream, illuminating the flowing water of the stream and the boy’s dark skin in curious shapes, which moved slowly as the leaves moved in the wind. He laughed again and stood, leaning in his hands on the mossy rocks.

“You should have heard the shriek you just made, Kagami!” Aomine smirked and the muddy ground under his feet moved a little with his weight, making him lean a little more on the rock. “You sounded like a scared bunny!”

Caught a little by surprise, Taiga moved his eyes from the boy’s torso and looked at him. “A bunny?” the other nodded and laughed a little louder. He frowned again but this time he raised one leg and kicked the water, finally drenching Daiki’s whole body, who also made a low shriek. “Who’s the scared bunny now, Aomine?” he taunted.

“You…” he called under his breath, rubbing his eyes and moving away from the rock, catching Taiga’s gaze once again to him, his tanned elbows shining under the sunlight, which was a little brighter this time. He stood in front of him and with challenging eyes, he exclaimed, “I’ll make you beg for my mercy now!” and before the redhead could dodge his attack, Aomine kicked the water on his face, soaking his hair.

And the entire morning consisted of them fooling around in the mountains, playing in the water of the long stream and catching cicadas – or more precisely, Aomine catching cicadas and scaring Kagami by putting them near his face – until both were too exhausted and just lay on the grass, catching their breath and poking the other’s side until one of them gave up to the tickles or punched the other’s head.

They returned home with wet hairs and skin a little muddy, which made Aomine’s mother scolding and throwing both in the bath. Another round of splashing water followed but both ended up more interested in making Mohawks in each other’s hair with shampoo. They stayed too long in the bath, though, which upset Daiki’s mother and made Kagami return home before dinner.

But that wasn’t the last time they spend their days like that.

The following days went just like that: they would go to new places and play around until exhaustion, and both had fun doing only that, enjoying the company of each other.

After their adventure in the mountains, Aomine took Kagami to the city. There had many stores and was very crowded, but the boys were mesmerized with the amount of colors and lights, and Kagami was especially attracted by the many smells from restaurants and the small tents of foods all along the streets. It didn’t take long for his stomach to growl for not getting any bit of those delicious things, but Aomine was ready for that event, and they soon were buying some weird, colorful sweets from a lady and her wooden cart filled of many other sweets they have never seen before. The city was gorgeous, and they came back home rubbing their bellies and talking about the next days.

And in one week, they were out again, this time in a summer festival, the last one of the season. Despite the times, the festival was fun and the people were wearing big smiles. Again, Kagami’s stomach was growling like a wild tiger and they both ate as much as they could – but in the end, the redhead ate twice as more than Aomine, as expected – and after there wasn’t room in their stomachs anymore, they challenged each other in the many different games. The festival continued along the night with wins and taunts and losses and insults until they couldn’t feel their feet or find more money for more games, so the pair went back home as exhausted and happy as the days before.

One thing that they weren’t expecting, however, was Kagami staying some nights over Aomine’s place, but that wasn’t a complaint from any of them. It was a part of their adventures together.

Although he was delighted with those fun days together, Kagami still caught himself wondering why they were doing this. He still could remember that morning when he told Daiki about his parent’s plan in leaving the country, but instead of saying something, Aomine just took him for a walk in the mountain and a swim in a stream. Sometimes he hated the unexpected ways of the younger, like changing subjects or suddenly doing something out of the ordinary.

Honestly, Kagami couldn’t understand the guy at all, but also could not think of a better way to spend his days than with Aomine’s company.

In his last night in Japan, however, he understood the intentions of the tanned boy when they were lying in the roof of the bluenette’s house and staring at the dark sky, which was as always illuminated by dozens and dozens of sparkling stars. They were quiet, listening to their breaths and the sounds of the night – owls hunting mice and the singing of grasshoppers. Mahogany eyes were lost in the dark blue vastness of the sky and its veil of stars.

Kagami blinked slowly. He once heard, not remembering from whom or when, that the stars he sees at night were already dead. _“But how come they are still shining bright in the skies?” “No idea. Perhaps to fool living stars to continue to shine, because a dull night sky isn’t worthy of contemplate.”_

His eyes blinked again, feeling sleepy as the seconds passed by until he heard a barely audible sob next to him. Turning to his right, Kagami found Aomine with his face covered with both arms, his bent legs in a vain attempt to cower or to hide himself and his trembling lips.

Startled, worried and even a bit scared, the redheaded sat up and bent down over the tanned boy, catching a glance of a deeply frowned forehead and white, small teeth biting onto his lips. Shocked with the sight of Aomine crying, and feeling a particularly strong beat of his heart, before it sinking into his chest, he parted his lips and called softly:

“… Aomine…”

“Stop looking at me, idiot!”

And he shut up.

They stood in silence for a moment, which for Kagami, seemed to be hours while his heart tried to struggle against the overwhelming feeling of seeing his friend crying.

He felt powerless.

But then Aomine dropped an arm, letting it fall on his stomach. The other kept covering his eyes when he spoke, his voice hoarse and low, “I don’t want you to go.”

Those simple words caught Kagami in surprise, his voice stuck in his throat and his heart almost escaping from his ribcage. He couldn’t bring himself to speak anything, and with his silence, Daiki proceeded:

“I— don’t want you to go, Bakagami… It’s no fun without you.”

Taiga parted his lips again, trying to make the words leave his throat, but his chin dropped as soon as he realized what Aomine was telling him. That night was their last one together, since he was leaving the country in the next day. Suddenly he felt his own eyes aching and his hand trembling like the tanned lips of the boy besides him. He then understood why Aomine took him to the mountain that morning, and the other following days, where they went to new places and played together.

“What am I gonna do when you leave? I won’t find someone like you here,” he paused, _and I don’t want anyone else too_ , he thought, “You’re unique man—just like your eyebrows” he joked sadly.

The comment about his eyebrows probably made Kagami snap from his shock, and he quickly replied:

“I will come back.”

Aomine laughed quietly, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Kagami affirmed, “I’ll come back so I can bring you with me.” He added, firmly.

They fell on a silence again, but this time the oldest boy stared anxiously at the other, waiting for his response, his eyes quickly traveling along his dusky skin, slightly illuminated by the starlight when the boy shifted.

Slowly, the arm covering his face moved to the side until Aomine could look at Kagami, and peering from under his arm, he asked:

“You promise?”

The glance of the midnight eyes at him made Kagami freeze for a moment, astonished by the intense and anxious look in those familiar blue eyes, as dark as the sky night, but certainly a lot more vivid than its stars. He blinked, the red marks and the remains of tears in Aomine’s eyes making him feel like bursting, but his voice didn’t crack or stutter this time:

“I promise.”

Aomine took three or four seconds before asking again, “How can I trust you, Bakagami?” his voice was serious, but a smirk could be seen in the corner of his lips.

“Of course I promise, Ahomine!” Kagami assured with a frown, his unique browns making the tanned boy laugh again.

“You seriously get riled up fast, huh?”

“I do not!” he barked this time, which made Aomine’s grin wider.

But before they could start an argument about each other’s honesty, the call of Aomine’s mother was heard, telling them to get off the roof and go to bed.

Aomine sighed and sat up, rubbing his eyes and humming a bit, a yawn climbing up his throat but soon being swallowed as he turned to the redhead, his eyes traveling around his sun-kissed face before smiling slightly, almost shyly. Kagami watched him and slowly leaned over until his lips met the soft skin of the younger boy’s cheek, who caught by surprise, stared at him, his chin dropping a low sound leaving his throat.

The redhead felt a heat reaching to his cheeks but he quickly smirked: “You also wanted a kiss, didn’t you, Aho?” he smiled wide.

Daiki stared at him a little longer, still startled by the sudden kiss and the resplendent grin of Taiga, and then smirked.

“You idiot…”

 

The orange rays of the sun could barely be seen in the horizon when Kagami Taiga was shaken from his sleep by an eager Aomine Daiki, already fully dressed and with no rheum or a bed hair – the opposite of the redhead. Nevertheless, the younger did not appear to be bothered by his appearance early in the morning – or willing to wait him to get ready – when he mumbled, “Kagami, get up! Let’s go to the mountains!” he called, grabbing his blankets and pulling hurriedly.

Kagami grumbled and pushed the warm blankets back to his body and cowered stubbornly under them. “Why? What’s so important we’ve got to do there?”

“You’ll see when you take your butt out of bed and come with me.” he explained impatient.

“… But it’s warm here…” he implied with a pout.

Aomine frowned.

Grunts, growls and kicks did not prevent the readhead from being dragged out of the bed, and soon he was tripping over his own feet while walking in tall grass, covered with cold dew, as they left the big residence of the Aomine’s, with their only child pulling him by his hands towards the mountains. The cold air of the morning filled their lungs, and the thin mist didn’t allow them to see more than the big silhouettes of huge, dark green mountains.

The memory of that morning where Aomine and he spent in that stream woke him a bit more, making him follow more eagerly the dark skinned boy to wherever he was taking him.

It didn’t take long for both boys arrive at a small clearing in the mountains, the warm and whitish rays of sunshine making the thick forest vivid and their sweaty foreheads glistening a bit after the short climb.

“W-What… What you wanted to do here after all?” Taiga argued as soon as he took a look around the clearing, noticing it was quite small and empty if not by one or two shrub and a short tree with a thick trunk. Walking exactly to this tree, Aomine stood in front of it and seemed to study its dark brown trunk for a moment before reaching into his shorts pocket and pulling out a small switchblade. Kagami’s mahogany eyes widened with the sight of the small blade.

“Where did you get this from, Ahomine?!” he snapped, taking some steps near him.

“From my dad’s drawer, but you tell no one!” he replied and placed a finger over his lips. He saw the redhead frown a bit before nodding, taking more steps near him. Aomine grinned slightly and took his hand again, pulling him to him side. “C’mere. Let’s do one more thing before you leave.” Kagami eyed him curiously and the tanned boy continued: “It was my dad who showed me this clearing and he told me that since he was our age this tree is here, even after earthquakes and a fire.” He explained, glancing at the dark trunk for a moment before staring at the reddish eyes again, which narrowed in confusion.

“So what?”

“Let’s write our names on this tree.”

The boy of red locks stared at those midnight eyes for a moment before snapping angrily.

“You still don’t believe me when I say that I’ll come back, Ahomine?!”

“What?! That’s not what I meant, Bakagami!”

“Then what is this “let’s write our names in this tree” supposed to be?” he barked, clenching his fists. Seriously, that guy could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but Kagami couldn’t stand it when Aomine didn’t trust him!

“It’s a proof!”

… Well, for that he wasn’t expecting for.

He blinked his eyes, confused. “A proof…? Of what?”

“Of our friendship,” Daiki said almost breathless, and then sighed deeply like if he was tired. He palmed the tree with one hand and feeling the rough bark against his hand, he mumbled. “Of course I believe in you, idiot, but last night I was thinking—“

“You were thinking?” Kagami raised a brown, eyeing the bluenette comically.

“Can you not?” he snapped angrily, and the redhead smiled quietly. “As I was saying… I wanted to have a proof of our friendship, since you were leaving, to show that everything—Fishing for crayfishes and monstrous lobsters, climbing up the mountains, going to the festival, eating until passing out… Everything was true! The things that we did and had fun together in those times, you know?” his voice cracked a bit and soon shut his mouth, swallowing dry before speaking up again, “So I’ll remember of our days together while I wait for you to return, and when you do, we can sign it again as both a proof that we met again, as a farewell for this tree, because we will be leaving together.” He finished in a mumble, staring intently at his hand on the dark trunk before glancing at the boy next to him, in a silent question.

Without doubts, Kagami really wasn’t expecting for that. Astonished by the bluenette’s intentions, he could just stare silently at him, assimilating and processing what Aomine just told him. When the gears in his head finally finished the job in understanding what he heard, he felt his cheeks burning with heat, his face and the tips of his ears turning as red as his hair. Aomine’s gazes still on him made him look away, finding his shoes dirty by mud.

He _really_ wasn’t expecting something like that from _Aomine Daiki_.

After some seconds, the own boy’s voice pronounced again, a bit frustrated.

“Look, I get it if you don’t want to—“

“No!” Kagami snapped hurriedly, looking up at the tanned face of Daiki again. “I—I want to… L-Let’s do this.”

Midnight blue eyes blinked once and twice and then the boy grinned, excited.

“R-Really?!” his voice couldn’t get happier. His heart was almost bursting from his chest since last night when the redhead kissed his cheek, but now with his agreement in signing their names together in that tree, Aomine really thought his heart was going to jump out from his throat.

It was a new thing for him, and he felt kind of fuzzy and warm, but he liked it.

“Huh,” Taiga nodded and then shoved his shoulder slightly. “Y-You go first. I want to see how to do it.” He lied.

He was just so embarrassed that he needed a moment to swallow his heart back to his chest, as it kept pounding as strong as a thunder, feeling it even in his ears.

Aomine obeyed right away, the switchblade on his hands clicking as he took the blade off and began scratching in the tree’s trunk with it, slowly writing his name. Still figuring out how to calm down his pumping heart, Taiga looked down at his feet again, but his gaze was captured by a small bunch of white flowers on the ground. They were growing next to the tree and were small and with an unusual shape, like a star. There were a few of them, maybe six or eight, he couldn’t tell, but those flowers were strangely lovely.

His attention was drawn back to Aomine as he handed him the switchblade.

“Write your name just like this, no need to be fancy… But feel free if you want to add some hearts or something.” he smirked as usual, receiving an elbow on his stomach. Kagami quickly wrote his name under Aomine’s, his face still burning a little when he finished and handed back the small blade. “That’s it!” smiled the tanned boy.

“Really?”

“Uh… Yeah… I mean…” Aomine mumbled as he shoved the switchblade back onto his pocket. “Now I just have to wait, right?” his lips curved in a small smile, but Kagami caught a glimpse of sadness crossing his dark blue eyes.

He looked down again, with no clue of what to say or do. Their farewell was near and he just wished for time to stop so he wouldn’t have to leave.

He didn’t want to go, and the realization hit him with such force that his eyes were burning. He just wanted to stay there for one more day with Aomine, or just another year.

_Or maybe forever._

He gulped and parted his lips, looking for good words.

“Aomine—I’m—”

“Hey…” suddenly something warm was pressed against his forehead and he felt a warm breath hitting his nose. He looked up and found Aomine close to him; so close that he could only stare at his intense blue eyes. Kagami thought he felt the tips of their noses touch when the bluenette said, “I bet that I can run down this mountain faster and reach the shore first than you.”

“What—?”

“And you’ll be so tired when you finally caught me up that I’ll have to carry you back to your house like a princess!”

Hell no!

“You won’t carry me like a princess ‘cause it’s me who’s gonna win!” Kagami Taiga barked then, finally realizing what the tanned boy was implying.

“Yeah?” the bluenette was wearing that same smirk that pissed the redhead. “I want to see it then.”

“And I’ll show you, moron!” and with no more delay, Kagami began running mad down the mountain, jumping fallen logs and laughing excited.

“Hah, you jerk!” and soon Aomine was behind him, both boys filling the mountain once again with laughters.

When they arrived at the beach, small waves were breaking in the shore when Kagami stamped his feet in the cold sea water, his shorts getting a bit wet with the water splashes. With a drawn-out sigh, he leaned a bit to catch his breath again when he hears footsteps behind him. With a smug face, he turns to face Daiki with a proud inflamed chest.

“Who’s the winner now, huh?” he smirked but in a blink of eyes he was greeted by a great amount of cold water on his face, making him choke right away. “W-What the—”

“You can have won this time, but you still look like an idiot, Bakagami.” The dark-skinned boy scoffed, kicking more water at the redhead who growled under his breath. “Or more precisely… You look like a soaked mutt now!” and laughed out loud.

But then a kick of cold water hit him in the face, making him choke immediately as Kagami roared in a laugh.

“You’re no better, Ahomine!”

“Bakagami! You moron!”

“What? You gonna cry now? At least your stupid face is already wet huh?”

“C’mere! I’ll throw you so hard in the sea that you’ll be floating to America!”

The beach watched as the two boys played around in its arms, kicking waves and throwing wet sand at each other, dirtying each other’s backs, legs, arms and a bit of their hair, which was at least quickly cleaned up when they both fell on the water. And this continued until both couldn’t stay standing anymore and sat next to each other, once again catching their breathes and appreciating the light blue sky of the end of summer, still filled with big, white congestus clouds. Their eyes roamed the blue vastness of the sky and the sea melted together while tucking in the sand with their short fingers, sometimes poking and pinching the other’s hand.

Their last time sitting by the shore and looking at the summer sky was reaching its end, but they secretly pondered how long it would take for them to look at the sky together again, and were so stuck in their thoughts that didn’t realize until their fingers stopped pinching each other to get entwined, first by their fingertips and then slowly slipping through the sand to gently hold their fingers together.  They soon became aware of that, but none seemed to mind, enjoying each other’s warmth a bit longer.

 

Making their way back to the big house in the rice fields, Taiga spotted his parent’s car parked just ahead, with his mother and father talking to the bluenette’s parents. Both gulped, but kept walking until the adults noticed them. His mother exclaimed his name and went to hug him, Aomine quickly taking a step away. She started complaining about his wet clothes, but as soon as she noticed the dripping hair of the dark-skinned boy, she swallowed her words and just gave her son a small towel.

Avoiding the red car with their packed stuff, Daiki kept his head down until his own parents went to give their farewells to the Kagami family. He looked up hesitantly, and found Kagami staring at him.

“Cut it out. You believe in me, right?”

“Just like you in me?”

Kagami smiled. “Yes, of course.”

Aomine smiled back. “Then yes, I do believe in you.”

“That’s good, because when I come back I’ll be taller than you!” he opened another of those big, wide smiles.

“You wish, Bakagami!”

Aomine really was going to miss those smiles.

Kagami’s mother called him again, telling him to get in the car because they’re leaving now. The redhead boy got in the car and kneeled on the back seat, waving at the bluenette boy who stood between his parents, waving back with a grin on his tanned face, and soon the car started moving and both kept looking until one couldn’t see the other anymore.

He remained in silent after the car was gone in the horizon, until a feminine voice sounded next to him.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart…” his mother’s soft voice suddenly hit his ears, and curiously looking up at his mother, Aomine saw a little smile on her face as she kneeled next to him. “He’ll certainly come back, you’ll see!”

Aomine didn’t notice his tears until the big hands of his father ruffled his silk, dark hair.

Kagami was in the same shape in the back seat of his parent’s car, tears running down his reddish cheeks, but was already planning his return to the country and to the rice fields of the Aomine family.

But he didn’t know how much the skies could change.

 

One week later, while lazily walking in the fields, Aomine was thinking about the redhead boy and his returning. He couldn’t hold his smile. Waiting really wasn’t his kind of thing, but every morning he woke up with his heart pounding in his chest, he knew Taiga would be back, someday, in a morning.

However, it was the Allies that welcomed his house one day, with big things exploding in the air and on the ground.

 

Two years later, he couldn’t even wait for the doors of the train open before jumping out and running madly on the streets. It took longer than he expected, but now that his feet were once again in the Japanese ground, Kagami felt his heart leaving his chest and climbing up his throat, almost jumping out running besides him in the streets packed with people.

The city wasn’t very far from the countryside, and not being able to wait a second more, the redhead kept running and running, the buildings slowly fading into the landscape as the trees and the so familiar mountains were getting near.

He felt exactly the same of two years ago; running to meet the bluenette at his place to go fishing in the morning.

The thought made the ache of his legs turn into more strength to his running.

He only noticed the lack of houses and buildings when he got near the shore, and when his legs finally stopped, darkened lands welcomed him instead of a great rice field and its big house of brown tiles.

Kagami walked to where used to be the Aomine’s residence, and his mahogany eyes roamed around the place, desperate.

Where was him?

“Oi, boy, are you lost?”

Turning to his left, Kagami found a middle aged man with a basket of fish on his back. He had a curious look on his face.

“What is it that you’re staring at this place so much? You need something—“

“W-What happened here?” his voice cracked and was barely audible. The man frowned, looking puzzled.

“What…? You don’t know?  The bombings in late July and then the big bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki?” the redhead kept staring at him, so he sighed deeply. “We lost the war, boy… And many lives too. Because of the countryside having many of plantations, the Allies thought it was a good idea to destroy the main source of food of the population, so it would be easy to bring the whole country down afterwards.” He scratched his bald head and looked at the young boy, who after a minute or two parted his lips once again, asking in a quiet voice:

“Did them… The people… here….”

The man looked away for a moment, staring at the lost fields around them before turning to him again. “I didn’t hear about anyone from this part of the beach who made it safe… It was a quickly and sudden attack, you know…” he sighed again. “It’s been two years now, but the country is slowly building up again and the cities are growing, so I assure you that—“

But Kagami ran away before he could finish, but this time, his whole body was trembling as he climbed up the mountains. His mind overflowing with memories, he managed to find again the small clearing of two years ago, and the air left his lungs as he found the place and many and many meters ahead completely devastated, with a few burnt trunks still standing in a charcoal-black soil. His sight blurred but the boy managed to keep walking, trying to remember where the tree was until he found a small, crooked stump on the ground. It was burnt and in the top, the wood was pointed, but easily fell apart when he tried to grab it with his hands, turning to aches.

The forty four years old tree was gone, as well as the proof that their time together was real and that would meet one day again.

Kagami wasn’t sure if the pounding in his ears was his heart or another kind of bombing, but he felt breathless and his eyes couldn’t focus in one thing anymore, the clearing slowly blurring in his mind.

_“Cut it out. You believe in me, right?”_

_“Just like you in me?”_

_“Yes, of course.”_

_“Then yes, I do believe in you.”_

Reaching his hands to grab onto something, Kagami leaned down on his knees and immediately found a peculiar thing on the ground.

There, still next to the old tree’s trunk, he saw a small bunch of white, star-shaped flowers.

He widened his eyes at the sight, and his voice was hoarse when he mumbled.

“What…” he gulped, his dry throat making it harder for him to breath. “How… How can these flowers still be here?”

His head was heavy on his shoulders, but the sight of the dirty white flowers on the black ground and something boiling on his body kept him still as his continued:

“How can they still be here when that tree fell down, and the cities were blown up?” he blinked his mahogany eyes, their star shape catching his whole attention as he bit hard on his lips before speaking up again, in a low whimper. “How can these flowers still be here, alive when Aomine—”

The boiling on his body bursted in tears and Kagami fell on the ground as the tanned boy’s name left his lips in desperate, choking calls.

The mountains were now filled by a lonely cry.

 

He didn’t know, after all. And how could he know that, in the skies, the stars were already dead? They were so lovely…

And from the same sky, the death came in light and fire, leaving a track of millions of dead in the lands of Japan and a desolated boy, far in America, succumbing for the Influenza and a heartbroken.

After an epidemic in U.S, the Kagami family lost their only child.

Kagami Taiga spent his last days in bed, thinking about the dark-skinned boy he met not that long ago in a beach in Japan, with whom he spent so many days together, playing and fooling around.

When he was found cold in his room, however, his last thought was about Aomine’s hands, and how warm they were in his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus. Christ.
> 
> It took me longer than I had expected to come up with the second chapter of Edelweiss. But I really have explanations for this: 1) sometimes I was lazy to type it. 2) other times, I couldn't bring anything useful or good. 3) MY COMPUTER DIED IN THE END APRIL AND I THOUGHT I HAD LOST MY HD BUt thank heavens it was totally okie dokie so I could recover my archives. *tears of joy*
> 
> And... A chapter with 12K words is probably the first thing that I've done in my life. Bless this AoKaga couple ya? Also, because of them, I stayed up until 2 A.M, reviewing and correcting the whole fucking thing because this chapter was supposed to be better than the first one, but since I'm not a very good English speaker, I'm not 100% confident in what I wrote, so please, I really would like to know if this chapter is better or worse than the first one!
> 
> Also::: sorry if Aomine ended up being a little different from the original character, but since he was a child here I didn't want to make him too crude or mean, heh.
> 
> And finally, I don't know when I'm coming up with the last chapter, but its script is already done, so if you guys are still interested to see what's going to happen next, please, tell me! You have no idea how excited this fanfic makes me *sobs* But thanks for reading it anyway! I hope you liked it!
> 
>  
> 
> *dies* I'm gonna probably take two weeks to rest now, ugh.


	3. The third meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The promise was fulfilled.

The quietness of the room was broken by a startled gasp, and feeling his body cold and the blood running fast in his veins, the 28-years-old man opened his mahogany eyes, which gleamed in fear and panic as they wandered around the place; his body was rigid in bed, as if he was trapped in a coffin, while he watched dark figures descending from the ceiling, slowly like feathers to then burst into fire on his stomach, screams ringing in his ears. His nose ached like there was acid dripping inside it and his throat was as dry as Sahara. In the corner of the bedroom, almost invisible in the dark, a man raised a long, shining tube and aimed at his face.

**Bang!**

Kagami brought up his arms to his face, his chest heaved rapidly with heavy panting while he slowly regained control of his own body.

Sleep paralysis.

Kagami took a deep breath before dropping his arms to his chest, grabbing the fabric of the t shirt with sweaty palms as he tried to calm down. It was the first time experiencing sleep paralysis, and the visions and noises he saw and heard were as terrifying as his nightmare.

That couldn’t be a good sight.

Running his tongue through his lips, he turned to the side and was greeted by a broad, muscular back. The blade bones created beautiful curves and contours in the dark skin, and with a slow and calm breath, Kagami watched the man beside him sleep peacefully.  
Strangely, the simple view of Aomine sleeping always made the redhead feel calm. Kagami was often woken by a warm breath on his neck and when opening his eyes, he’d find the dusky skinned man embracing him tightly, snoring or drooling on his shoulder.

However, at that moment, Kagami couldn’t want more the hug and the warmth of the other male’s body. And obeying to that desire, the redhead approached over his asleep lover and wrapped his arms around the other male’s body, as big as his own, hugging him dearly and resting his forehead on his shoulder. But as soon as he felt the warm skin of the bare chest against his fingertips, his mind was once more overflowing with images of small, exploding shadows falling from a sky; a rainy green forest filled with cries, and an old hunter with a shotgun and a bag hanging on his shoulder, where a small body lay swaying from side to side. The embrace of his arms around the man’s waist tightened, which slowly woke the male from his sleep by the sudden and growing grip around him.

Letting out a hoarse grunt escape from his mouth while rubbing his eyes, Aomine slightly shifted his body on the bed. “Oi, Kagami…” he called in a drawn out yawn. “Don’t cling on me, dumbass. I’ll be stinking like you if—” 

His sentence was short cut, his voice stuck in his throat when he felt the body behind him shaking and a warm forehead pressed against his back.

The fog of Morpheus quickly vanished as he turned around, finding Kagami with eyes dangerously glistering with tears. The sight made Aomine’s guts freeze solid, but he gently reached for the redhead, touching the skin of his cheeks softly before cupping his face in his hands, glancing at trembling lips in anxious worry.

“Kagami,” his voice was so low that Aomine feared he wouldn’t be heard. “Kagami, what happened?” He called a bit louder this time, running his fingers through the sun-kissed skin of the redhead’s face, rubbing circles on his cheekbones in a try to prevent the tears from falling but Kagami kept his head down. Leaning over him, Daiki pressed his lips on the warm forehead and whispered, “Taiga, look at me.”

For some seconds, Aomine thought his words had no effect on him, but soon he noticed the shivering slowing down until Kagami’s body was still once again, his lips not trembling and, fortunately, no tears. He closed his eyes in relief, but when he felt the well-known warmth in his right hand, midnight blues met mahoganies. His heart immediately skipped a beat, but he quickly spoke up.

“Taiga, what happened?” short and straight. He couldn’t bear seeing Kagami in such pain any longer.

“I had a nightmare.” And as short and straight as him, Kagami replied in a slow tone.

Arching a brow, Aomine gazed at him in little surprise. “You had a nightmare?” the redhead gave a brief nod, so he added. “What was it about?”

Kagami looked up to find dark blue eyes looking expectantly at him, and for a moment he wondered if he should share the terrific visions from the his dream or just shake it off and snuggle comfortably in Aomine’s warm chest, erasing the shadows falling from skies and the hunter and his shotgun. However, as soon as he felt the long fingers brushing his damp fringe from his sweaty forehead, the words started to stumble from his mouth.

“It was about us.” He muttered as he sat up in bed, Aomine raising himself onto his elbow to observe him curiously.

Kagami then talked about everything he dreamed, from the deep green of the forests to the vast, blue sea and infinite sky. His voice was low while he talked, but Aomine could hear a pinch of happiness and that naturally brought a smile to his face as he keenly listened to him.

The redhead’s voice dropped an octave and his expression darkened, immediately making Aomine frown and shift closer, sharpening his attention.

When hearing about the hunter, Aomine felt dizzy when a point in his head hurt, making him blink a few times before turning his gaze back to the redhead.

Taiga went on, his voice sometimes cracking and getting even lower but Aomine continued hooked to his words, ignoring the strangely growing uneasiness in his guts.

When the last words left his mouth his lips were starting to tremble again and trying to hold a sob, Kagami went silent. Next to him, Aomine was speechless, but deep inside him, a storm was loud enough to make his heart beat like a taiko drum in his ears; his body suddenly too heavy to shift from his already aching elbow.

For a brief moment, the air around them was heavy and dense, as if they were both in a fog, and fearing the slight idea of losing his silent lover in that imaginary fog, the bluenette gathered strength and sat up on bed. The hustle of the covers attracted Kagami’s attention and when long legs hugged his waist and a warm chest pressed against his, Kagami looked up to find Aomine gazing at him.

“We are good now, Taiga.” Aomine’s voice was low, but as strong and deep as before, sending shivers down his spine. “There’s no need to worry about us anymore, stupid.” he grinned, and even the small insult in that tender voice made Kagami’s body soften, which made the bluenette wrap his arms around his torso, holding the redhead close to him.

Still silent, Kagami let out a soft breath, rubbing the tip of his nose on Aomine’s shoulder, the warmth of the smooth dusky skin drawing him closer and for a brief moment his senses were taken by the faint smell of soap and the blend of the leather of Aomine’s police jacket and cinnamon. Right now, Kagami was sure he could bathe in that scent for all his life and never grow tired of it. However, when he opened his reddish mahogany eyes again, something snapped in the back of his mind and in a natural instinct, Kagami pushed Aomine into the bed, drawing out a small moan of surprise from him.

Kagami quickly posted himself over him, sitting on his stomach and before any words left tanned lips, he spoke up. “Let’s make a promise, Aomine.”

Aomine tilted his head, furrowing his brows at Kagami, puzzled.

Seeing his silence, his tongue flick out to wet his lips and continued, “I… Uhm… I mean…” Kagami paused, the back of his neck heating in embarrassment. “I just don’t want us to get separated again… so… stay with me this time okay?”

The dark skinned man went silent. Those words hit him with a force he wasn’t expecting to, the uneasiness making his body heavy like a stone again as if Kagami was light as a feather sitting on him. _“Stay with you this time? What in heavens…?”_ was the only thing that roamed through his mind, however, as his silence grew longer, something deep in him burst into a pulse that spread through his body, making his heart pump twice as fast.

Aomine was familiar with that feeling. That happened when his instincts were awakened.

As if in free will, his big hands reached out to hold the waist of the man in a tight grip.

“As if I could leave you, Taiga.” The words flowed from his mouth before his mind could register it.

Blinking in awe, Kagami parted his lips before opening a small grin, not as big as the ones he used to wear on his face, but just as lovely. So lovely that the bluenette couldn’t resist the urge to kiss him; their faces coming close, brushing the tip of their noses till their lips joined together in a small kiss, Kagami’s grin widening as he felt the thin, tanned lips massaging his, giving gentle nips before moving away.

_“It is ridiculous”_ , Kagami though, _“how fast this guy makes me feel better.”_

Aomine gave a chuckle. “But you know, Kagami… It’s impossible for you to get away from me at this point.”

“Hmm?” the redhead raised a brow. “What you—”

“Do you really believe that after years of heated arguments, insane one-on-ones, cooking me food, fighting from what to watch on TV to which car to buy…. You would get away from me?” Aomine smiled. “We’re trapped to each other like dogs in leashes.” he finished with a big grin, making the redhead burst into laughter.

“You’re ridiculous, Ahomine.”

As if he hadn’t heard that, the dark skinned man added.

“Okay. We haven’t tried collars, leashes, whips or whatever yet, but—” he smirked when Kagami hit him in the arm but still wearing a grin on his face.

“You asshole,” the redhead rubbed his eyes as his laugh died out until he looked at Aomine and smiled mischievously. “… But my SUV is still better than your Rover.”

Daiki raised his brows and gave a fake growl.

“Let’s not get it started Kagami, or I’m calling the police.”

“But you _are_ the police.”

“Exactly, and I’ll end you if you say one more thing about my car.” He faked another growl and poked the redhead on his belly, his tanned lips crooking into a smile when the room was filled with Kagami’s laughter again, who throwing his head back, laughed louder.

Panting a little, the slightly older man wiped the small tears from his eyes.

“From all people, I ended up with you…” he finally said after calming down, looking at Aomine. “I really must be an idiot.”

Aomine scoffed. “Yes, you are.” he shifted on the bed, sitting in a better position with his back against the headboard of their bed. “But at least you are an idiot with a very good taste.” And winking slyly to him Aomine broke into an amused laugh, the rich tones of his voice filling the whole room.

For Kagami it seemed that suddenly the time slowed down, almost freezing as he watched the smiling man in front of him, admiring how the dusky skin of his body earned a dim glow under the moonlight coming from the crack in the window, his stomach feeling fussy with that gorgeous smile and heart pumping fast in his ribcage. After six years – that seemed much more – Aomine still had that effect on him.

When Aomine’s laughter died, Kagami crawled over to sit on his lap, his strong thighs holding the bluenette in the bed.

“I like it when you make me laugh.” He mumbled, running his fingertips over tanned lips, which curled into a smug grin.

“Do you want me to make you laugh?” midnight eyes gazed at him, traveling down his neck before returning to his face.

Kagami paused, locking their eyes in an intense gaze before replying,

“No. Right now I want to ride you like a wild bull.”

His voice was low and thick and Aomine lost his breath.

“Kagami—” Aomine mumbled but the redhead soon shut him with a kiss, which this time was deep and intense, thirsty for his addictive taste and arousing gasps.

_He was starving for Aomine._

With his breathing heaving every minute their kiss dragged on, Aomine couldn’t hold the delighted gasps from escaping from his lips, totally lost in the sloppy kiss of messy sucks and too much tongue, his body completely trapped between the hard headboard and the big, strong body of his boyfriend, pressed so intimately against his, until he pulled a low moan from Taiga when he gave a good suck on his lower lip, licking his upper in a languid move next.

“Daiki…” a hot breath hit his lips as Kagami moaned his name.

A shiver ran down his back. Oh, there weren’t words that could possible explain how much Aomine loved when Kagami moaned his name like that.

As if he had awakened from a stupor, Aomine quickly led his hands to Kagami’s legs, squeezing the hard flesh underneath the sweat pants before reaching to the waistband, seeping his fingers into the cloth. Their lips parted and hot breathes mingled.

“Let me help you with this, then.” Aomine whispered, pulling Kagami’s pants down in a swift move.

Kagami gave a small smile. 

“How kind of you.” his voice was amused but his chest kept rising and falling with the fast rhythm of his breath.

Aomine grunted. “Yeah, I’m such a good boyfriend.” He agreed in a husky deep voice, which sent a shiver down to Kagami’s groin.

Without delay, tanned hands found their way into the old t-shirt of the redhead, finding smooth skin and hard abs and the bluenette smiled when the muscles tensed beneath his touch. Panting heavily, Kagami decided to busy himself with the tanned neck at his disposal, biting and sucking in the skin and every inch he had access to, marking as much as he wanted. Aomine suppressed a curse. Fuck, he had such a fragile sweet spot…

Trying to not lose his mind for the arousing mouth in his neck, his fingers continued to explore until they found an interesting spot. Smiling mischievously, Aomine circumcised the navel before penetrating it, slightly. It was enough for Kagami to flinch and to make his muscles tense again. Aomine chuckled.

“Fuck, Aomine…”

“Wait a little more boy” despite the husky tone, his voice was calm. A heavy sigh left his lips as he grabbed the redhead’s waist, squeezing the flesh in his hands. “Damn Taiga… You’re so hot…” he mumbled, brushing the tip of his nose against Kagami’s chest, the faint smell of the sun kissed skin filling his nostrils, and soon, his whole self.

Kagami frowned. “You’re a goddamn tease.”

Aomine snorted and looked up at the redhead still on his lap, glaring at him with dark mahogany eyes full of desire. He mumbled, his lips brushing against the small nubs under the t shirt. “You like it though.” And flicking his tongue out, he gave a languid lick on the perky nipple, lips brushing softly.

Kagami arched his back, hissing between his teeth. Damn, even still dressed he felt the wet warmth of Aomine’s tongue. He couldn’t bear that any longer.

Biting his lips, he dropped heavily on Aomine’s lap and and pressed their hips together, which pulled out a moan from both.

“What is this, Kagami?” the question was breathless, the owner’s voice still with his hands inside the thin t-shirt of the male on his lap.

The redhead eyed him before bringing his face closer. “My impatience.” And he pressed their lips together once again, his tongue demanding entrance in the hot mouth.

Honestly, he had no idea how they ended up like this. He suddenly woke up in their room completely frightened by a horrible dream, frozen in the bed while the horrifying visions of his conscience crept into reality before he was freed from them, immediately seeking for comfort into Aomine’s strong arms and warm chest. And he found it; the tanned man never failed to make him feel better.

But as he calmed down while they engaged in a conversation that quickly made them laugh… Aomine’s amused laugh and grinning face snapped something inside Kagami’s gut. Literally a gut feeling that he couldn’t figure out what was. A mix of fear, need and loneliness, he guessed, when he saw the man before him laughing so lively. For some reason, the feeling that the grinning idiot would disappear in thin air in front of him in any moment invaded him, and there is no way Kagami could bear that.

And there he was, in the most intimate way with Aomine, as close as the laws of physics allowed them.

He moaned.

“Oi, Kagami” the hoarse voice of Aomine whispered to his ear and Kagami felt himself getting hot under the gaze of those dark eyes full of lust. “Raise your hips.”

His breath caught in his throat and obediently did as he was told, gasping when strong hands started stroking his erection through the thin fabric of his already wet underwear.

“Aomine…” he moaned and rolled his hips, wanton.

“Mmm?” Aomine hummed, pulling his hand from the throbbing member to hold the redhead’s waist, closing the space between them again. “What is it, Taiga?”

Kagami smiled mentally, the worrying thoughts vanishing from his mind.

Grinding their hips together and sighing with the touch of their hard boners, Kagami whispered in Aomine’s ear.

“Take me.”

We will stay together was the last thing crossing his mind before he lost himself in the hot touches.

 

Lazily lying on the bed and lulled by the warmth of the soft blankets, the man snores while the white of the pillow – which was damp by the saliva dripping from his parted lips – mingles with the red locks sprawled to everywhere, making a beautiful contrast that captured the attention of the observer eyes.  
When the faint smoke of the beverage in the mug in his hands decreased, he decided it was time to wake up the sleeping redhead. He walked silently to him, coming closer until the dark stain in the pillow around the other’s open mouth was visible. Shaking his head slightly and curling his lips into a smile, he bent down and pressed the red mug against the man’s cheek, waiting a few seconds before red eyes snapped open.

“It’s hot!” Kagami shouted with a still hoarse voice, his cheek burning with the heat of whatever that jerk pressed against his face.

“Here” and ignoring his complains, Aomine handed the red mug to him. “I made coffee.”

“You made coffee?” the redhead blinked and grabbed the mug, shifting on bed to sit comfortably and eyed the dark drink carefully, almost wary. Aomine _tsk_ ed, sitting beside his legs.

“Jesus fuck, just drink it! I might not cook much but I know how to make coffee.” He growled while taking a sip of the hot drink in his own black mug. It was black because they didn’t find a blue one.

Kagami averted his eyes from the mug and looked up at Aomine, finding the famous scowl on his face. The bluenette shook his mug gently, stirring the coffee inside before noticing the gaze on him. He arched a brow, which just aggravated his expression.

Taiga chuckled and finally took a small sip of the dark drink, tasting it in his tongue before swallowing, humming in delight. “It is good.” He grinned.

“Of course it is! It was me who made it!” Aomine growled in stubbornness, almost pouting with the laughter the redhead gave.

“I’m sorry. I’m just surprised you woke up to make coffee.” His reply was muffled by the mug to his lips, his body warming up and sleepiness fading slowly.

Hearing that, tanned lips curled into a smirk. “Well, that’s because you wouldn’t wake up no matter how many times I called you.” And turning to him, Aomine gave a malicious smile. “What happened? Did I let you too tired last night?”

The malicious but yet amused tone in his voice made Kagami choke on his coffee, swallowing harshly. “What the—” he started but when their gazes met, the words stuck in his throat. “I… I just fell asleep, idiot. And slept like a rock.” He tried to explain while the heat in his neck rose to his face, the tips of his ears turning red under Aomine’s gaze.

“Yeah?” the dark skinned man arched his brow again, observing the redhead nod and look down to his red mug. Aomine sighed dramatically. “You’re such a bad wife, Kagami. You move way too much in your sleep and wake up late.”

“Shut up.” Kagami growled under his breath, finishing his drink before the other could say anything else. Placing the mug on the nightstand beside him, he added “I’m off work for a few days anyway, so I can sleep as much as I want.” He shrugged, certain he sounded stubborn when Aomine smiled again.

Trying to ignore the smug bastard, his eyes fell to the tanned chest, now covered by a white shirt which still had the last two buttons open and no tie in its collar.

Sighing, Kagami got up from the bed and headed to their closet when Aomine spoke up again.

“How I will have my breakfast if you’re sleeping then?” he inquired with a frown.

_“He’s just like a spoiled brat”_  rolling his eyes, Kagami picked a dark grey tie and returned to where Aomine was still sat, looking curiously at him.

“You can buy some doughnuts or croissants on your way. I don’t know.” He replied while buttoning Aomine’s shirt and tying a knot in the tie around his neck.

Aomine let himself enjoy Kagami’s touch– the fingertips brushing softly against his chest and knuckles tickling on his neck – before mumbling in reply. “It’s not the same thing, though.” His tone was stubborn and when looking up he saw the redhead curling his lips into a small smile. When Taiga finished, Daiki stood up to face him.

“Will you make me breakfast tomorrow then?”

“No way”

“Then will you go out have dinner with me later?”

“Are you asking me out Aomine?”

“I don’t know… Maybe?” he chuckled and gave a peck on Taiga’s lips, drawing out a soft sigh from the redhead.

Stepping back to take a look at the tanned face, Kagami went silent for a brief moment, which Aomine took as an opportunity to check him out. Because of their jobs – a firefighter and a police officer – there weren’t many mornings where they could lazy on bed, but the bluenette always made sure to enjoy the image of a disheveled Kagami, wondering how someone could be so adorable and attractive with a bedhead and old, untidy clothes.

The exception that morning was that the redhead wasn’t wearing any pants, and he could openly view the bare, long legs and the strong muscles. The grip of those legs around him were still fresh and vivid in his mind and Aomine couldn’t help but stare longer at them, tongue flicking out to lick his lower lip.

Closing the space until their lips brushed, Kagami whispered:  
“You don’t have time for this right now.” Their eyes met again and grinning mischievously, he slipped his hand down and gave a quick squeeze on Aomine’s ass.

Aomine yelped, snapping off from his perverted thoughts and glaring at the redhead, who bursted into laughter while leaving their bedroom, heading to the kitchen.  
“What you mean I don’t have time for this?” he shouted and followed the laughing idiot, wondering if he meant of them going out to have dinner or… playing a bit before Aomine left to work.

Scratching his belly, Kagami yawned loudly and opened the fridge.

“You don’t have time for anything right now if not to leave for work. You’re gonna be late!” Kagami said, grabbing a carton of milk and then looking up to find the bluenette in the other side of the kitchen counter with a frown on his handsome face. He rolled his eyes, “go to work instead of glaring at me like a spoiled brat, asshole.”

Aomine _tsk_ ed and turned back to grab his jacket, wearing it and shoving his wallet in the pocket while Kagami watched silently.

When he headed to the front door, the redhead let out a soft sigh and reached to the top cupboard, getting ready to cook his breakfast banquet when a warm breath hit his neck.

“See you later, Baka.” Aomine whispered and gave a peck on Kagami’s cheek while a large hand grabbed his ass, squeezing it just like the redhead did, but a bit longer.

That asshole always would make things turn into a competition.

Still feeling shivers going down his back, Kagami turned around just in time to see the bluenette opening the door and winking at him, the usual smug smirk placed on his thin lips before the front door closed with a soft thud.

With a smile in the corner of his lips, the redhead whispered.

“Later, Aho.”

 

Hearing his footsteps echoing along the underground parking, Aomine yawned and licked his lips, tasting the coffee he had made that morning. He grunted “Kagami’s coffee is still the best…” while dragging the sole of his shoes in the pavement, pressing a button in a small control on his key ring and hearing a beep, the front lights of a black Range Rover ahead igniting after being unlocked. He opened the door and slipped inside, finding his bag with his job’s papers still in the passenger seat. He closed the door and sat back, staring at the steering wheel.

For some reason his mind was still busying itself with the dream the redhead told him. He still could feel his skin crawl when remembering the details. He had no idea why, but as Kagami kept telling his dream, Aomine’s mind slowly sunk into a vortex, as if his own self was trying to catch an important memory from long ago that was extremely vital.

“Vital, huh?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes while his mind still remembered the details of the dream when suddenly...

**Bang!**

Hissing between his teeth, Aomine brought his hand to the back of his head when a sudden headache attacked him again, pumping fiercely against his skull like a jailed animal trying to escape. He bit his lips.

It was really unsettling how Kagami explained what happened to that little panther with that simple small word.

Feeling his headache slowly fading away, he opened his midnight eyes again. He has no idea what is happening to him after Kagami told him that. The only thing he was sure was that he doesn’t want Taiga to have more dreams like that.

With his heart thundering in his ribcage like the bombs the redhead saw – that also seemed too real for himself – Aomine started the car and was soon in the streets, the sound of the engine cleaning his mind while his body relaxed in the seat. He rolled his shoulders and breathed deeply in when he stopped in the traffic light, letting out a sigh.

“Calm down, imbecile” he told himself, his voice sounding a bit huskier for his own ears. “It was just a dream after all.”

 

Kagami _tsk_ ed, eyebrows frowning in his face. “Why did I wake so early today?” he asked out loud. After the bluenette left for work, he spent some time making his breakfast.

He made some omelets and toasts, as well vitamins and even wondered if he should go buy garlic bread, but he knew Aomine would be mad if he bought garlic bread and gave him none. He was sure he would eat them all before the bluenette returned home, and they would wrestle to decide who would buy more. He sighed when he finished drinking the rest of the milk in the carton, his eyes roaming around the living room while he rested his body against the kitchen counter. The apartment was a complete mess, which wasn’t unusual for two men whose jobs demanded so much of their energy and time.

And well. When they had some free time together they’d just worse the mess by ripping each other’s clothes, so…

Kagami shook his head and threw away the empty carton and started gathering the clothes scattered on the floor, remembering what they did to make such a mess while humming a song he heard in the radio some weeks ago at the fire station. The truth is that he was struggling to busy himself with those tasks he would prefer to leave for Daiki. (The bluenette became surprisingly good at cleaning after he thought he had lost one pair of his favorite shoes in his old messy room. The trauma was strong enough to make him become the tidy kind.)

He knew it, that the memories of a deep green forest and a vast rice field and blue sea would come back to haunt him in his most subtle moment of distraction.

It didn’t take long for him to clean up the apartment and tidy up their stuff, letting out a deep sigh of relief when he was done, lying comfortably on the couch.

“What now?” he asked himself again, mahogany eyes wandering around the place in search of something else to do. Playing video games alone was boring and there was no point in watching a movie or a game now. Kagami grunted. “I should take days off when the Aho also has his…” he mumbled and rubbed his eyes, seeing purple stars burst behind his lids before opening them. He looked around again and, with still blurred eyes, a small frame on the media stand caught his attention.

Standing up, the redhead walked over to the curious object that he hadn’t noticed before, widening his eyes when he realized it was a photo of him and Aomine in their last winter vacations. They were both wearing puffer jackets and there was a pile of snow on top of their heads and some more over their faces and shoulders.

If he remembered well, both of them spent a whole afternoon in an intense snowball fight in a park until Aomine tripped over a pile of snow. Taking that chance, he quickly jumped on the bluenette and shoved a handful snow on his head, laughing at how the guy yelped in surprise. But of course Daiki wasn’t one to not fight back, and before the redhead could react, he was shoved to the side and received a stupidly huge snow ball on the face. “Eat that, Bakagami!” Then, both of them rolled around in the cold snow until feeling too cold to keep playing. They took that picture before returning to the inn where they stayed during the vacations, laughing loudly and shivering like newborn lambs.

Kagami smiled and put back the photo frame, the memories of that small trip to Hokkaido last year still vivid in his mind, just like the ridiculous cold weather.

“It would be nice to travel again…” he mused. Although that trip had been short, the time they spent together there was very special to him and seeing that picture again made him feel nostalgic, a gentle warmth spreading across his chest.

Then an annoyed growl reached his ears. Blinking in surprise, he patted his belly, feeling his stomach complain of hunger once again. For a moment, he wondered what to cook for lunch, but since he was alone and it would take long to cook something, he had no other choice. “Let’s go to Maji, then.” He said, patting his belly as if to calm the monster inside it and quickly went to their room to get his wallet and keys, leaving the apartment before his stomach came to life.

 

“I think I’m going to beat my record.” Kagami said while throwing a paper ball in a pile of many other paper balls, a pile so big that was occupying half of the table where he was sat while his tray still had other six hamburgers.

He never bothered with how much he ate. Since from primary school he’s used to receiving looks from strangers when they noticed the stupidly huge amount of food he consumed. He couldn’t care less. After basketball, cooking and eating were his favorite hobbies and right now all he could do was to devour those juicy cheeseburgers.

“It sure is good to stuff your face with food that isn’t yours sometimes…” he mused out loud and accidentally let out a burp at the exactly moment an old lady passed by him, holding the hand of a little boy who laughed at the noise the redhead made. The lady frowned deeply, though, and dragged the young with her. Embarrassed, Kagami turned to the window next to him and was about to reach for another burger when something caught his eye.

Across the street, a small store displayed a wooden sign, painted in white with a name written on it. “Eden Gardens” it read. The store was small and in the outside, vines were twining on the entrance door and around the display window.

“This store is new around here.” Kagami mumbled, grabbing another burger and unwrapping it. He watched people passing by the small store. “I wonder what they sell there?” he frowned thoughtfully, and as if to answer his question, a young couple left the store with the girl holding a huge bouquet of roses in her arms. “A florist shop…?” he raised his brows, taking another look at the sign and the vines outside the store. He fell in an embarrassing silence before rolling his eyes. “Of course it’s a florist shop, you stupid!” he growled and took a big bite on his cheeseburger, looking away from the store.

Six burgers later and a small portion of fries, the doorbell tinkled when the redhead left the restaurant, a satisfied grunt coming out of his mouth. “Maji Burgers is wonderful as ever” He sighed happily, patting his stomach again as if to ensure to the hunger monster that everything was okay. He then started to make his way back home, walking along the sidewalk and waiting for the traffic signal to cross the street when his eye were caught once again in the florist shop. He observed intently, as if deciding whether be should stop by or go straight home, but once the traffic light closed for the pedestrians, Kagami walked directly to the small store, only noticing where he was when he faced the entrance door beautifully adorned with vines, tiny flowers blooming between the dark green leaves.

A drawn out sigh left his lips. “Well, since I’m here I might as well take a look at this store.” He told himself as he entered, being engulfed by a ton of different fragrances right away.

Looking curiously around the store, he was surprised that the interior was larger than he imagined. The walls were of a cream yellow, with wooden shelves going from end to end, and Kagami was astonished with the huge amount of flowers carefully arranged in the shelves and on long tables. Mesmerized by that unique place and the colorful flowers, he walked around the shop, glancing to and fro curiously. He’d never been to a florist shop before, and couldn’t help being curious now.

Although the store was quite big with a sea of different flowers, it didn’t take long for him to walk all around and be standing in front of the entrance door again. Giving one last look at a beautiful arrangement of petunias, Kagami sighed and was about to leave when he glanced up the wall shelf.

He didn’t know why, but he glanced quickly at it and there he found a small pot, with eight tiny flowers inside it.

The memory of a white flower from his dream suddenly hit him, leaving the redhead breathless.

He was so astonished with the sight of those tiny flowers that small steps on the wooden floor gone unnoticed to him until a calm voice spoke up.

“Welcome to Eden Gardens! Can I help you, mister?”

Kagami turned around so quickly that he had no idea how his neck didn’t snap, and looked down at the short woman next to him.

“Uhh… W-what?” Kagami flushed slightly when the words left his mouth in an embarrassing stutter.

“I’m sorry. I was in the back room with a client on the phone and didn’t hear you arriving.” She said with a short bow and quickly added. “But I saw the way you looked at those flowers.”

He felt his cheeks heating up. “Ah! Yes, I… I’m sorry—”

As if not listening to his words, the woman continued.

“They’re called Edelweiss.”

The words were caught in his throat while he stared at her, noticing several wrinkles appearing on her face. The foreign word danced in his ears when he looked back to the small vase. “Edelweiss. So that’s how they’re called.”

The old woman observed the redhead; her head with a few white hairs tilted almost all the way back just to take a look at the male’s face. He seemed anxiously curious. “Are you interested in them? That’s the only vase I have and after glancing at them so passionately you might as well take them home!”  
His cheeks were furiously blushing by that commentary but Kagami managed to quick reply.

“Are you sure, miss?” Kagami’s oddly shaped brows furrowed.

“Why, of course!” she giggled softly and walked to grab a stool, carrying it to the shelf where the flowers were. Taiga followed her in slow steps, watching as the lady climbed on the stool. “It’s always nice to have flowers at home. They can brighten up the whole place!” the woman spoke cheerfully, taking the vase and turning to the redhead again. “And besides, aren’t them beautiful?”

She held the flowers towards him and Kagami stepped closer, attracted by the pure white of the star shaped petals. He couldn’t deny their beauty.

Smiling, Taiga agreed. “Yes, they are.” He straightened his back and looked at the woman with eyes full of certainty. “I’ll take them, please.”

Why was he buying those flowers? No single idea honestly, but he had the instinct to take the charming tiny stars with him, so he wouldn’t question that. And Kagami wasn’t one to think things through too.

The florist smiled and climbed down the stool and waving a hand to the redhead, she headed to the counter. Kagami followed her while reaching to his wallet, finding what was left of his money after his well appreciated lunch.

“How much is—”

“They’re pretty fragile, you know.” He was cut short by her words. Kagami frowned, looking puzzled at the old florist, who was writing something in a piece of paper.

“I’m sorry?”

“Despite from being from hostile places and withstand rough climates, the Edelweiss is still a delicate and fragile flower, and may break more easily with a rougher touch of hands than a gust of wind.” Her voice was low and calm, but noticing the silence of the redhead, she looked up at him. “You know… A long time ago, men used to climb mountains in search for the Edelweiss. Many went, but few returned. Lots of people died in the mountains in their search for this small flower… And why, you must be wondering?” she smiled and leaned a bit on the counter, eyeing him intently. “It’s said that if someone is able to climb to the very top of a mountain and come back to their beloved with the Edelweiss, their love is the purest of all and promised to last forever!”

Kagami blinked in awe. He gazed at the wrinkles in her face as she smiled. “But why…”

“The meaning of the Edelweiss is daring, courage and noble purity. Only the bravest would find this flower, and bringing them to their beloved was a proof that their feelings were the purest and truest.” She paused and fixed her eyes on his and Kagami could swear that she seemed to search for something before concluding in a small voice. “After all, they were willing to face death countless times just to be forever with the one they loved.”

Kagami stared at the short woman. Why she told him that? No fucking idea. But for some reason, the feeling that that had an important meaning blossomed inside him. Speechless, he bit his lips and stared at the paper bag where the Edelweiss was.

_“Maybe there’s a hidden purpose in this flower…”_

The florist then, acting like she said nothing big, thanked the redhead for the purchase and wished him a good day, while Kagami barely managed to thank her. Hearing the doorbell ringing behind him, his feet automatically led him back home as he thought how comforting the weight of the flower vase was in his arms.

“I wonder if there’s a place for you where none of us will knock you off.” Kagami laughed.

 

Arriving at almost 6 pm, Kagami immediately put himself to work. He unwrapped the Edelweiss and looked around. The living wasn’t a suitable place because they would never pay attention to it, both too busy watching basketball matches, playing video games or making out. Their room was absolutely out of question so the kitchen was the only place left.

He scanned the place carefully until an empty space under the kitchen window caught his attention. The spot would get sunlight during the morning and shadow during the afternoon. Everything a plant needs.

Carefully, Kagami placed the Edelweiss under the window, noticing a soft breeze coming from outside.

“Here’s your new home” He smiled happily, tilting his head to have a better look of the star shaped flower. This was the first time he had a plant in his house after moving to Japan.

Sighing in contentment and taking one last glance at the white petals, Kagami took his apron hanging beside the stove and tied it around his waist. Aomine would soon be back and certainly whining about how hungry he was. “I guess teriyaki will do well tonight.”

 

The redhead didn’t realize how much time had passed when he finished cooking; widening his eyes at the clock marking 7:30 pm. “Did I make too much food again?” he pondered, eyeing the pan full of teriyaki and other dishes he decided to cook along the way.

He hummed lowly with the delicious smell of food, wondering if they would eat everything that night, when he noticed it.

Turning his eyes back to the clock hanging on the wall, Kagami frowned. It was already 7:30 pm. Why hasn’t Aomine arrived yet?

“He must be helping the juniors again… Or maybe he’s gotten stuck in the traffic.” Kagami spoke in low tone, gazing at the clock before sighing. If Aomine will arrive late then he might as well take a shower and get rid of the smell of sweat and cheeseburgers in his body.

 

Steam left the bathroom in a small cloud when the man opened the door, water drops dripping from his red hair and falling on his broad shoulder. Grabbing a towel for his damp hair, Kagami walked down the hallway, humming a song when a noise reached his ears, making his lips curl into a smile.

“You won’t be having any dinner if you don’t take a shower first, Aho—” his sentence died half way upon entering in the living room, finding no one there but himself.

Hanging the towel around his neck, the redhead looked around in search of the blue haired idiot, wondering if he was hiding somewhere waiting for the opportunity to scare him again, barking like a dog right next to his ear. When he made sure he was still alone the noise was heard again. Curious, Kagami returned to the kitchen to find the curtains flapping in the breeze, the cloth hitting some silverware near it.

The redhead _tsk_ ed and walked over to close the window, shivering a little when the chill breeze from outside hit his wet chest. Kagami took a quick glance at the streets and sighed when the bluenette was nowhere to be seen. Mahogany eyes then dropped to the white flowers. “You’re unbelievable. You’re late just when I have something to show you?” His gaze dragged longer on the flower, captured by its beauty. He contemplated the soft felt that covered the tiny white petals, wondering if they were as soft as Aomine’s dark skin.

His fingers twitched. Kagami couldn’t wait any longer. Just to hear his hoarse tired voice while Aomine talked to him would make Kagami feel better.

And so he rushed to grab his phone.

 

Hanging on the wall, the clock continued to work with its black pointers dancing in circles, making the minutes pass slowly and quietly, not making a sound when one hour passed, and then two. The clock continued its job despite the redhead’s lack of attention.

“Lack of attention” was quite unfair, though. Kagami just kept his attention on the bright screen of his cell phone while his worries increased alongside the count number of missed calls and his own unreplied messages.

Aomine was beyond late. He wasn’t coming back.

The device fell on the sofa as Kagami leaned back, letting out a deep sigh and running his hands through red locks. He was in a total loss. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this?

Feeling powerless, the redhead shifted on the couch to get comfortable and ease the pain in his back after spending so much time hunched over. A short grunt left his lips when he found a good position, closing his eyes soon after.

When the darkness enveloped him, a memory from long ago interrupted his worried thoughts. The darkness was quickly replaced by the image of a blue headed idiot lying lazily right where he was sitting now, with his long limbs hanging from the couch.

_“I’m tired, Kagami” he heard the tanned man saying when he came back home after a long shift in the firefighter house. “I’m tired of noisy kids, slow walking elderly and stupid teenagers coming to the office to complain about useless problems.”_

_“It’s your duty to help them, Aho” had been his reply while dropping his bag to take his dirty clothes to the laundry. Aomine tsked._

_“It’s not my duty to hear them complaining that their lunch is being stolen by bullies at school, or the garbage truck leaving dirty stains in their sidewalk or that their big cars are getting scratched after driving around town.” The bluenette sighed in resignation._ “I demand the streets to be larger, _said to me a chick today. C’mon! It’s not the streets fault for being narrow or the car’s for being big. It’s hers for being unable to drive big cars!” he yelled in an angry tone._

_The redhead snorted and headed back to the living room only to find the dusky skinned man facing the ceiling, rubbing his eyes and mumbling profanities under his breath._

_Smiling lightly, he walked to him and lazily dropped himself over Aomine, who gave a low gasp._

_“Even if you have to deal with bullshit sometimes it’s your duty to help them, officer.”_ Kagami remembered of mumbling against the warm, tanned chest.

_Daiki let out a low chuckle, which reverberated through Kagami’s body._

_“Yeah, I know. The life of a police officer ain’t any paradise.” He sighed, throwing a hand to shuffle the red locks of his lover, feeling them a bit sticky with sweat. He then gave a gentle tug on them. “But I sure as hell don’t deserve to deal with your bullshit, Bakagami.”_

_By hearing that, he quickly raised his head from the other’s chest. “Hah? Who are you to talk?” snapped Taiga, looking at Aomine who was wearing his usual frown._

_“You’re heavy, jerk. Get out of me.”_

He had shaken his head in response. _“No way. ‘M tired.”_

_“What a coincidence!” Daiki had rolled his eyes until noticing the redhead gazing at his face. His frown turned into his famous smirk. “I’ll not say it again. Get out me, Taiga.”_

_Hearing his name in that low, throaty growl from the tanned man made his body instantly bent over, closing the space between their faces. With lips ghostly brushing against each other and eyes locked together, Taiga whispered._

_“Make me.”_

_In the next second, slender fingers were around his nape and full lips touched his in a kiss._

Aomine’s lips were carved in him. Their shape, their taste, their touch against his own lips. Since they started dating back in high school, those lips have carved their mark in Kagami, from his body to his core. It was impossible to forget them.

He still could remember their kiss that night. It was slow and soft, with both drained of energy to deepen the kiss, rather enjoying the feel of their lips moving against each other, sometimes smiling when soft nips were given in their lower lip or letting out soft sighs with the warm wet touch of the tip of tongues.

Kagami planted a long and soft kiss in the corner of the tanned lips before pulling away to look down at Aomine, finding a lovely faint blush on the tanned cheeks. Honestly, there was no part of Aomine that wasn’t carved in him.

Their eyes had remained locked together for a few minutes before the bluenette spoke up.

_“Still… I’m tired of all this, Kagami.” He had said in a serious tone._

_“Uhm?” his biforked browns frowned upon hearing that._

_“What do you think of going on a trip? Just me and you.”_

_“A trip…? To where?”_

_“Don’t know. Anywhere is fine.” Aomine shrugged, shifting a bit to wrap his arms around the redhead’s middle and rub circles with his thumbs in the tan flesh under his tank top. “We can go at the end of the year, during Christmas or something.”_

_Kagami mused for a few seconds, a bit distracted with the soft touch in his skin. “Somewhere cold, then?”_

_Indigo eyes gleamed at him. “Sounds good. I can shove snow in your pants this way.” He laughed when the redhead glared and pinched his nose._

_“Not if I push you in a sleigh from the top of a mountain first.”_

_“Then it’s decided? We’re going in vacations?” Aomine’s deep voice vibrated in excitement, his eyes looking at the redhead expectantly._

_How the hell could he say no to that?_

_“Of course we are.” He smiled and immediately felt strong arms pull him closer and a warm breath hit his neck, sending a shiver down his back._

_“You’re the best, Taiga” Aomine hummed in his neck, almost making the redhead purr._

_“I know I am” Was he reply, feeling the blue strands tickling his cheek._

_Aomine’s embrace lasted a bit longer, with both in silence, before the dusky skinned man grumbled._

_“This is great and all, but you’re seriously reeking of sweat Kagami.” He smirked, licking the salty skin of the redhead’s neck before giving it a soft bite._

His lips curled into a small smile when remembering that. He had hit the back of Aomine’s head after that comment, which just made the dusky skinned man laugh in amusement. He still wondered how Aomine could laugh so much with such simple things, like when they would wake up and he would laugh at his bed head, or the faces he makes when the neighbor’s dog decides to pay them a surprise visit. Hell, Aomine had laughed even at the faces he makes before sneezing! “He is such a pain in the ass” was what Kagami always said to everybody.

After all, Kagami would never say out loud how happy he gets when he makes Aomine openly laugh like that.

He let his memories of that night wander a little longer before opening his eyes again, blinking a few times to adjust with the light in the living room. When mahogany eyes regained focus, the redhead was once again trapped in that apartment, in a loss of what to do.

_“What now, Taiga?”_ he asked himself, his heart thundering inside his ribcage as if it was about to burst out and run down the street to look for Daiki.

However, the quietness was suddenly broken by a loud ringing sound, which startled the redhead and made him jerk in surprise.

“What the hell—” his sentence was cut short when he noticed the screen of his cellphone lighten up. His hands quickly grabbed the device and his eyes widened when seeing the name written in there. Aomine.

His fingers suddenly became noodles but Kagami managed to accept the call, bringing the phone to his ear and curse loudly.

“Dammit, Ahomine! Why are you taking so long to come back…”

His sentence was once again cut short, this time by a calm voice.

_“Excuse me, but is it Kagami Taiga whom I am speaking to?”_

His mind went blank and anything that was about to spill from his mouth was suddenly shoved back to his guts.

_“Excuse me? Are you listening?”_

The polite voice brought him back to where he was. Yes, Kagami was sitting in his living room, alone in the dark and with a stranger on the phone using Aomine’s cell phone.

“Yes” his voice was hoarse and he coughed. “Yes, it’s me. Who are you? And why are you with this cell phone?” he didn’t care if he sounded rude.

_“My name is Fumiko Itayama, the Chief nursing officer at Jutto Izatama Hospital.” She said calmly and slowly, as if talking to a child, which terribly bothered Kagami. “I’m calling you, Kagami Taiga, because tonight at 8:47 pm there was an accident in the principal avenue in Ginza. Two cars crashed.”_

He heard her breath pause for a second, as if deciding what to say next.

Kagami felt his stomach sink and suddenly he was too heavy to move from his spot.

_“We received calls and we immediately sent an ambulance to the local to rescue the victims and as soon as they arrived here, we looked for ways to contact their relatives.” She gave another pause but quickly continued. “Kagami Taiga… I’m calling you because Aomine Daiki crashed with another car and is now hospitalized at our hospital with a serious wound in his head. I beg you to come here as fast—”_

This time, it was the nurse who was cut short when a hustling sound came from the other side of the line. When she was about to call for the man again a breathless voice spoke up in a heavy tone.

“What’s the address?”

 

The steering wheel of his car has never been so slippery, or the streets lights so dull. His ears were ringing and shivers running down his body, making the hairs of his arms stand on end and the t-shirt sticking to his chest by cold sweat.

The worst part is that he had no idea what was going on in his own head.

The feeling was like a wheel with the colors of the spectrum spinning rapidly, turning completely white like there was nothing painted on it. Kagami’s head was spinning, so full of thoughts and visions that it was slowly turning white.

He could see Aomine leaving the office with a yawn while stretching his broad back, cursing under his breath like he always did.

He could hear the low hum of the car’s engine while Aomine drove through the streets, the faint spots of light from the streets traveling around his skin.

And he could see two big, bright points of light appearing from nowhere.

Kagami wondered if Aomine had any reaction before the crash.

The mental image of his midnight blue eyes widening as the other car came in full speed, his body jerking as a reaction to escape from what was about to happen but unable to leave his car made Kagami’s throat ache and his eyes burn.

Aomine was trapped in that just like the small panther from his dreams, trapped in the dirty bag with a hole in its head.

A sob escaped from his lips and he brought up one hand to rub his eyes, the blurred vision making it difficult to see the way to the hospital.

How did that happen? Or better, was it _really_ happening? Just that morning they were drinking coffee together and bickering like usual. Kagami could still feel the soft touch of dusky skin in his hands and the indigo eyes were never so vivid, roaming down his body like he was the most beautiful landscape Aomine had ever seen. The rich baritone voice was clear in his mind, in an amused tone while he told him that he couldn’t have breakfast without Kagami.

Those short times they would spend together in the mornings were so precious that it was impossible to avoid his trembling lips to curl into a tiny smile.

And soon his body relaxed on the seat, his limbs stopped trembling and the fierce grip on the steering wheel loosened. And for the first time since he jumped into his car and sped off through the streets, Kagami actually saw the streets and not bright spots passing rapidly by him.

Kagami looked around and widened his eyes when the tall building of the hospital was just a few meters ahead. With recovered control over his body, he drove to the façade while his heart thundered in his ears.

He couldn’t believe that their day had ended up like this, with Aomine in a bed in some hospital after a crash and him almost running through those glass doors and calling the bluenette’s name as loud as he could.

_“We are good now, Taiga.”_

Aomine’s words were replaying in his head when Kagami entered the hospital, being greeted by white walls and the smell of anesthetics.

There wouldn’t be a third time.

 

“You must be Kagami Taiga, correct?”

A soft and calm voice sounded behind him and turning back, Kagami found a short woman staring at him intently.

“Yes. And you are Mrs. Itayama, am I right?”

Her thin lips curled into a small smile and she nodded. “Yes, I am.” Kagami wouldn’t forget the tone of the voice. “I’m glad you came quickly, Mr. Kagami. We already started the treatment for Aomine Daiki and it seems that he had his head hit by something hard in view of the wound on his forehead.” She picked a clipboard that he didn’t notice she was carrying and flipped a page, her eyes moving rapidly over small letters before turning her attention back to him. “Could you tell me your relation with Mr. Aomine, please?”

“I’m his boyfriend.”

The words came out of his lips in a smooth, calm tone. His heart skipped a beat just like it used to years ago when they started going out. Back then, the words would stumble from his mouth, sometimes even in stutters, and his cheeks would be taken by a bright red. But even so, the strongest reaction to those simple words would be his heart beating in sheer happiness inside his ribcage.

He was no longer shy to say such words out loud, or his face reddened, but the wild beat in his chest remained as strong as eleven years ago.

_I bet that this would continue the same even in another life._

The shrill sound of a phone nearby attracted his attention back to the nurse and the sight of the short woman gazing at him with raised brows and parted lips puzzled him for a moment, before the realization hit him, making his body jerk.

Seeing his reaction, Fumiko gave a gentle smile. “I see. No wonder your number was the first in his contacts list.” She chuckled and Kagami just stared at her, not knowing if he should laugh along or hide his face in his hands.

His eyes, however, fell on the clipboard in her hands. In a paper filled with small letters and lines, his eyes widened when they captured Aomine Daiki handwritten in blue ink.

Feeling his hands trembling beside him, Kagami took a step near the nurse and asked in a tone louder than he intended.

“Where is he? Is he okay?”

The soft sound of her laugh died, and Fumiko stared at him with her brown eyes. Kagami saw in them an uneasy calmness, like bonanza before a storm. She straightened her back and started heading to the elevator in the hospital hall.

“At this time the doctors must have finished giving stitches for his wound and bandaged. You can come see him now.” Her voice was solemn and Taiga clenched his fists, following her inside the metallic box.

She pressed a button which lit up with the number five on it and the door quickly slid shut, the elevator starting its way up to the required floor.

Enclosed in that small space and listening to the soft hum of the engine, the redhead ran a hand through his disheveled hair and let his eyes fell on the nurse again, voice lower this time.

“What… happened to Daiki?”

Fumiko gave him a glance from the corner of her eyes before turning to face the metallic doors again. She seemed to ponder what to say before replying.

“We received calls from some people who witnessed the accident. All they told us is that a car came rushing down a street, crossed the avenue and crashed in another car.”

The elevator stopped moving and the metallic doors slid open. When they stepped outside, a long corridor, with impeccably white walls welcomed them in total silence.

Kagami cringed with the sharp sound of Fumiko’s heels on the floor, which echoed through the walls as she walked, leading the way.

“When the ambulances arrived, Aomine Daiki was already unconscious. By arriving here, he was sent to the emergency room while I started organizing his file, but then one of the nurses came with a cell phone, telling it was ringing inside his suit. That’s how I found you, Mr. Kagami.”

Kagami listened intently, absorbing each information, but at the end of the last sentence, he lost his gaze somewhere in the spotlessly floor. There was the same whirlwind, filling again his mind with images of Aomine and said accident, making his body stiffen in place.

Then, the sharp sound of heels reached his ears.

“You can enter and have a look at him now.” The tone of the feminine voice was almost inaudible.

Fumiko was starting to worry about how he was absorbing all that information. For numerous times she witnessed relatives and friends collapsing when hearing the “news” about the person they cared for, but the redhead beside her just looked up, fixing his gaze on the small white board attached to the door of the room, the number 10 printed in black.

Kagami took a deep breath, his broad chest rising as the air filled it, before opening the door.

Like a child playing hide-and-seek, he frantically looked around, mahogany eyes wandering to every corner of the room. Needles and scalpels were scattered in short metallic tables, and also a small pile of white gauze. Two men wearing white coats were exchanging a few words that seemed another language as Taiga tightened his grip in the cold doorknob, unable to endure more of that. He needed to see Aomine.

When he was about to beg for those strangers to let him see the bluenette, the man in front of him stepped to the side to throw away a pair of plastic gloves.

His breath caught in his throat.

He was laying in that bed just like he used to do after a long day at work, chest rising and falling in a calm pace, as if he was having good dreams.  
It felt like years since Kagami last saw that view. As usual, the dark blue strands of his hair were spread in the pillow, and his dark skin was a beautiful contrast in the white sheets. But it was the serene countenance on Aomine’s face that made a choked sound escape from Kagami’s lips, trying to call for him but only pronouncing the first vowels.

The men in the room turned around startled, but he paid them no mind as he walked towards the bed in the middle of the room, like a moth attracted to the light.

But in his life, Aomine was indeed Kagami’s light.

Frowning at the sudden presence, the doctor number one, who was previously taking off his surgeon gloves, stared at the redhead. He was old, around his sixties, and his eyebrows were already gray, with hairs pointing out to various sides. His forehead was wrinkled, as if he was always worried.

“Who is this…?” he started in a mumble, turning to the doctor number two, but a feminine voice replied him instead.

“He is Kagami Taiga,” Fumiko said in a whisper, entering in the room with careful steps. She stopped beside the doctor and continued, “He is Aomine’s companion.” Her voice dropped an octave and looked at the redhead, who seemed to not hear them or simply ignored their presence.

The doctor number one let out a soft groan of understanding. He eyed the tall man carefully, noticing he was as big as the bluenette lying on bed. He then arched a disheveled brown at him. “He came quickly.”

“It was important to him, you know.” The nurse sighed.

Before he could say anything else, the doctor number two put a hand on his shoulder.

“You should explain him what happened. From the beginning.” His voice was soft and he had a small smile on his lips.

The doctor number two was a lot younger than the doctor number one. Around his twenties, his skin was slightly tanned and his eyes were in a dark shade of brown, just like his neatly parted hair.

The older doctor opened his mouth to protest but the younger just walked to the door. “Explain him what we did with his wound there and the next procedures, okay?” he smiled, tapping a finger on his forehead before turning his back to them. “I count on you!” and left.

The remaining doctor growled angrily, glaring at the door like the younger was still there before shifting his gaze to the tall redhead still standing next to the bed.

With shaking hands, Taiga let his fingers roam through the soft skin of Aomine’s arm which was crossed over his chest. His breath was in a long and profound pace and mahogany eyes kept going up and down the sleeping figure.

He gave a weak smile.

Aomine would always look so much younger when sleeping; the wrinkles of his constant scowl on his forehead disappearing as he breathed calmly.  
Letting out a sigh, Kagami looked up at the bandage around his forehead. If not for that, the bluenette did not seem in bad conditions and that only made him more anxious.

He wanted to hear that rich laughter again, to look at those shining dark blue eyes and feel the touch of their skins against each other. He wanted to have their lips locked together again, to have his delighted groans and his deep voice whispering his name again.

Kagami gulped harshly. He wanted…

“So you must be Aomine Daiki’s companion, correct?”

A sudden voice then came out of nowhere, reaching his ears and interrupting his thoughts.

Turning around, Kagami found an old man in white coat looking at him with hands in his back silently waiting for his response. He eyed him briefly before replying, voice low.

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m glad you came quickly to our hospital, Mr. Kagami. We pride ourselves in not only taking care of our patients, but also their families.” The sides of his wrinkled mouth curled up into a nervous smile. Kagami turned to Fumiko, who only nodded.

“Now, about Aomine Daiki…”

“When will he wake up?” Kagami didn’t care if he was being rude now, but the doctor seemed annoyed by the way his nose wrinkled.

“That’s what I was about to say…” he coughed and soon continued. “He wounded his head in the accident, passing out instantly. We gave him a few stitches and now he is alright. However, he’s still asleep and due the gravity of the accident, which was fairly serious, we don’t expect him to wake up today.” The doctor explained in a steady voice, turning his head to take a look at the bandage around the tanned male’s head before looking up at the redhead again. “We decided to let him stay the night to get some rest and let his body recover from the crash. He was on his way back from work, correct?” Taiga gave a brief nod. “Then he was already tired. He had a few scratches and abrasions, but nothing serious…”

He brought up a hand to scratch his chin.

“Tomorrow when he wakes up we will make a last check up on him, but I believe he will be discharged from the hospital. With this, you can come back in the afternoon to pick him up and drive him safely back to home.” The doctor concluded with another forced smile. He was uncomfortable by explaining all that, it was visible.

That whole situation wasn’t good for any of them.

Kagami inhaled deeply and brought up a hand to stroke his face, the stress finally taking a toll on him. When he opened his eyes again, he let them drop on Aomine’s sleeping face.

Watching him sleep like nothing have happened made Kagami think of their mornings when none had to work. The first one to wake up would always disrupt the other’s sleep till he woke up too. And due to his stomach growling of hunger so early in the day, he would usually wake up first, and oh, how he loved to mess with Daiki’s sleep! From light kisses on his neck and ice cubes in his toes to mischievous hands inside his shorts and mouth in his ass, the redhead always had something in mind.

However, in that moment, all Kagami wanted was to call for Aomine’s name till he woke up, staring at him with confused, sleepy, dark blue eyes.  
Ignoring the sudden lump in his throat Taiga reached out a hand, the feeling of the warm tanned skin sending a shiver through his arm. Holding the long fingers with his own, he asked in a whisper.

“So… he is okay?”

“Yes, he is in good state now. No need to worry any longer.”

Kagami remained with his eyes on the sleeping male, so the doctor added.

“You can go home and take a rest, Mr. Kagami. We acknowledge how important he is for you, but we can’t neglect your health too. Please, have a good night of sleep. Fumiko will explain you more about our visit hours and…” the doctor stuttered, which made Kagami look up at his face.

The old man seemed to hesitate for a moment before reaching out a hand to lightly tap the side of Kagami’s arm (since he couldn’t reach his shoulder) and quietly said.

“Don’t worry, this will soon be over. You will see.”

He widened his eyes, surprised look plastered on his face while looking at the doctor, who just averted his eyes and turned back. He walked stiffly to one of the tables, like a student who finished a presentation in front of the whole class, and started organizing the equipment.

Kagami blinked once and twice, in awe by the kindness of the doctor for his – their situation, and was about to open his mouth when a light touch on his arm attracted his attention. Fumiko was beside him with a patient look on her face.

“Let’s go, Mr. Kagami. There are some documents you need to fill in and I will explain to you some things.” She smiled and gave a step back, starting to exit the room with her heels clicking behind her.

Biting his lower lip and looking down at their fingers intertwined together, Kagami let himself think how wonderful was the contrast between their skins before hesitantly loosen his grip, watching Aomine’s fingers slip from his own and falling on the bed.

Kagami swallowed the lump in his throat and fighting back the urge to just grab his hand again, he took one last look at Aomine’s face.

“Later, Aho…”

And he followed the sound of Fumiko’s heels.

Behind him, Aomine’s heartbeat machine beeps.

 

Taiga gave another glance at the clock on the wall. 4:26 pm. He groaned and shifted again in the uncomfortable chair, not caring anymore if his long legs were in the middle of the corridor. Nobody was passing by anyway.

He remembered clearly that the visit hours started at 4 pm and finished at 6 pm. He asked that several times to Fumiko to make sure he would arrive in point.

Fucking hell, what was he even doing there? _“Wait here for a moment, Mr. Kagami. We’ll soon call you”_ Fumiko said before walking down that white corridor faster than usual.

Taiga shifted again, squeezing his leather jacket in his hand, furrowing his brows and staring a hole in that nasty white floor. All that whiteness surrounding him was making him nauseous. He just went there to take Daiki away from those white walls and there he was, sitting in that chair like a grounded kid and frowning to a point that would probably make Aomine proud.

Kagami stroked his face again, rubbing his eyes before staring at the floor again, now filled with several sparkling dots.

After filling in the documents and listening to some explanations from Fumiko, including the visit hours, Kagami left the hospital with a headache and a stinging pain in his chest last night.

He drove back to their apartment and went to bed, but failed to catch on his sleep. That morning all he had in mind was to take Daiki from that sickening room and never hear the beeping sound of the monitor again.

But as soon as he arrived in the hospital, he was told to wait patiently till he was called. And there he was, shifting uncomfortably (or anxiously?) for half an hour now.

Then the clicking sound reached his ears.

Turning to the corridor, Kagami saw Fumiko walking in his direction. He quickly stood up.

“Fumiko! Enough of this!” Taiga roared, standing in the middle of the way. “You won’t make me wait one more second here! I want…” his voice was loud and determined in the beginning of his sentence, but as the nurse approached with a heavy look on her usually calm face his words started dying, getting lower and lower till he finished in a whisper. “… to see Daiki.”

Fumiko stopped in front of the redhead and, looking at him with her brown eyes, she murmured.

“Please, follow me. The doctors want to talk to you.”

 

Upon reentering the room 10, Kagami found the two doctors from the night before, as well the bluenette who was solemnly sleeping.

Doctor number one glanced at him, but remained silent in the other side of the bed where Aomine lay. It was the Doctor number two who greeted him.

“Glad to see you again, Mr. Kagami! I knew you were punctual! Come here, have a seat.” The young man smiled, pointing to a chair in the corner of the room.

“It took way longer than I expected to be called.” Kagami said, ignoring the chair offered to him. He was done with sitting in that hospital.

The young doctor glanced at the Doctor number one, who stared back silently. The redhead frowned at that.

“What’s it you called me for, doctors?”

Doctor number two sighed and picked a clipboard from a nearby table. Aomine’s file was there, name written in blue ink.

“Last night, when Mr. Aomine arrived, his heart rate was of 60 bpm. We found that normal for a person who passed out after an accident.” He explained, and Taiga just nodded, focusing on his words. Aomine’s monitor beeped.

“Then we let him rest for the rest of the night, with monitors checking his pulse and heart rate. In case of hemorrhage.” He paused to take a look at the redhead, who swallowed harshly but nodded again.

“Did he wake up feeling better?”

As if he had not heard the question, the young continued:

“Then, at 7 am, the nurses went to take a look at him. He was still asleep, but they received requests to let him wake up by himself.”

The monitor beeped.

“At 9 am, when our patients are woken up and have their breakfast, the nurses said that he was still sleeping, so Mrs. Fumiko checked him up, but let Mr. Aomine sleep more. After all, he had crashed with another car… And he doesn’t look like a morning person either.”

He offered a gentle smile, but this time Kagami just stared silently at him.

“When it was noon and he was still asleep, Fumiko started calling for him and press wet towels on his forehead, trying to wake him up.” there was a brief pause where the monitor beeped again before the doctor went on. “At 1 pm, we started his check up. His heart rate dropped to 33 bpm and his pulse was lower than average…” The pause this time was longer which made the beeping noise louder. Turning to its source, Kagami widened his eyes at the sight.

Surrounding him like hungry vultures, several machines were connected to Aomine’s body, with wires coming out from inside the hospital overall and also others connected to his arms. What was that?

“Aomine…?” Kagami called.

Then the doctor announced.

“Mr. Kagami, we believe that Aomine is in a coma.”

 

His mind was spinning, nonstop and at full speed. So much that he was afraid that it would crash.

_“Please, don’t go like this! You’re emotionally unstable and driving in this situation is dangerous! Wait here—” “Wait up, Mr. Kagami! We still have things to explain—!” “Wait, wait!”_

He couldn’t wait any longer in that place, staring at white walls and Aomine’s peaceful sleeping face.

He _was_ sleeping. How could they say that? _Coma?_ No, impossible. They had to be kidding.

“They have to be kidding” was what Kagami kept repeating to himself as he drove back from the hospital, hands tightly gripping the steering wheel and t-shirt sticking to his torso, coated in cold sweat.

The redhead didn’t notice when he parked his car or entered the quiet hall of the building. He didn’t notice when the elevator arrived or the low thud of the door closing behind him when he entered their apartment in pure penumbra.

He didn’t notice at all. The beeping sound echoing in his head and that word ringing in his ears were numbing his senses.

The mattress sank under his weight and mahogany eyes watched lights and shadows dancing in the wall of the room as cars drove past the street.

Kagami stroked his face for the thousandth time in the past two days. He was so tired, so exhausted.

He let his body fall into the bed, lying on his back. He stood there motionless, with closed eyes and in complete silence. And in that bed, a déjà vu crept silently to his conscience and his eyes snapped open, staring straight to the empty spot beside his legs.

Just one day ago, in a morning like every other in that year so far, he was awakened by the hot touch of his mug and greeted by the mischievous smile of a grown up man who still seemed to be in his teenager years by the silly things he still did. Then, that man sat in that empty spot beside Kagami’s leg and just drank his coffee, complaining how he was a terrible wife and that he did know how to make at least a goddamn coffee!

His throat became dry. Oh, what he would give to drink that coffee again.

Then, Kagami stood up and tied the man’s tie, brushing his fingers against that smooth dusky skin while hearing him ask him out for dinner, like they were in high school again.

How could it all have happened a day ago? Why it seemed years since he heard that low, rich laugh? Heard the baritone voice whispering his name or felt the firm touch of those lips against his?

His lips trembled.

Kagami brought up both hands to his face, hiding underneath them as if they could stop the memories from coming back.

He missed Aomine. He missed him so much it was sickening him to stay in that ridiculous big bed alone.

Kagami parted his lips and his tongue stirred in his mouth, but he only let out a weak breath. His throat was so dry and the lump growing inside it just hurt more. He tried again but it was in vain. Then, his right arm became too heavy to stay in that position, so his hand slipped from his face and dropped on a soft pillow in the other side of the bed.  
Instinctively he grabbed the pillow and pulled it to him, hiding his face in its soft, cool body and immediately regretted the decision.

The unique scent of Aomine’s skin, strong and yet somewhat tender, filled his nostrils and made his senses burst into a mess of sensations, making his mind float to somewhere where he wasn’t alone again.

_But oh, he was alone._ Aomine and he were in different beds and Kagami never felt so lonely before, not even in that horrible nightmare.

Those same vowels escaped from his quivering lips as he pressed his face deeper in the pillow, swallowing that sorrowful smell and not minding the warm wet running down his cheeks.

If only it was just another bad dream.

 

The sky was filled with clouds on that afternoon. Their big bodies drifted across the blue vastness like brides walking down the aisle. The warm breeze of late summer blew his bangs restless, but the redhead just drove across the streets in direction to the tall building he was so familiar with now.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Kagami put in practice his plan. That morning when he woke up, he immediately sat in front of his computer and began to search for all he should know.

_“To encourage a person to wake up from a coma, the acquaintances can expose them to elements of their daily life, such as songs, smells, touches. Calling for them also helps.”_

And that was what Taiga told the doctors when he came back to face those white walls. By receiving permission to walk freely in the hospital and watching the nurses connecting more wires to Aomine, this time on his forehead, he was left alone in the room.

A sigh of relief left his lips. He was so glad to be alone with the bluenette and not be surrounded by Fumiko and the doctors. At this point they were as haunting as that white corridor.

And so he began.

Pulling out the orange ball from the bag hanging on his shoulder, Kagami sat next to the bed and brought one of Aomine’s hands to touch its rough surface. Basketball was such a big thing in their lives that their ball was the first thing that he tucked in the bag.

After letting the long tanned finger feel the texture of the ball, Kagami let it bounce on the ground, passing from one hand to the other, hesitant. _“Is it what they really meant in those medical articles?”_ he pondered, glancing at the sleeping man and widening his eyes. Aomine’s chest rose, a long sigh leaving from his nose.

“Is it… Is it working?” Taiga exclaimed, amazed.

Aomine just sighed at the sound of the bouncing ball, didn’t he?

Kagami couldn’t believe it, but he received a response from that! Daiki was still there!

Soon after that, the redhead continued bringing more stuff for the bluenette. He would record basketball matches to play on the TV placed in the room, especially Daiki’s favorite team. He would touch his arms and talk to him about his day. Sometimes Kagami lost track of the time when in that room, and caressing the tanned skin of Aomine’s arms, he questioned himself if his efforts would bring his lover back to him.

But to hear the doctors say that the waves of his brain activity were going well just made Taiga full of hope. And so he kept returning every afternoon to the hospital, with the songs they liked the most to sing together and news from the world.

And everything was going well until the second week.

At this point, Kagami had received permission to spend the nights in the hospital when he was approached by the Doctor number two one afternoon. The look in his eyes immediately sent a cold shiver down his spine, and when asked to follow him to a small office, Kagami wondered what happened. When he sat in front of the desk, the young doctor was quickly.

“Mr. Kagami. This morning when we took a look at Mr. Aomine’s condition we noticed a change in his brain activity.” He made a small pause before continuing. “The waves have dropped. He is getting deeper in his coma.”

Mahogany eyes widened in shock. “W-What? Dropped?!”  
The doctor nodded. “We don’t know what must have happened. The wound in his forehead is practically healed and he hadn’t any hemorrhage, but…”

They fell in silence for a moment until the doctor spoke again.

“Don’t lose your faith now. Keep trying.”

And that was what Kagami did.

He left the office and walked to the room 10, where he found the tanned male in his peaceful sleep as usual. Then, sitting back in the chair beside the bed, he kept trying waking him up despite his shaking hands and trembling voice.

And the days rapidly passed by, and each day Kagami received the same news: Aomine was falling deeper in his coma.

The redhead continued to come every afternoon without fail, bringing more and more for the dark skinned man: the smell of his favorite dishes, the touch of his video game control, and even one of those magazines of him.

But as Kagami received less response, the more he fell in desperate.

And right now, staring at his dirty shoes and feeling his eyes still burning after a collapse on his way back from the hospital, he asked himself “And now what, Taiga? What can you do now?”

Before he left that morning, Fumiko came to him and quietly said that due to Aomine’s situation, Kagami should be _ready_ if anything happened. Those haunting words kept echoing in his ears and he couldn’t bear hearing them.

He felt so helpless. It seemed that his chances of waking Aomine from his coma were streaming through his fingers and he feared the possibility of ending up alone in the dark like in his nightmare.

Feeling like those thoughts were turning into bugs that were crawling their way to his consciousness, Taiga weakly kicked his shoes and dragged his heavy body to the kitchen, paying no attention to the messy apartment. He needed water. His throat hurt.

Taking a glass from the cupboard, he filled it with tap water and drank in one go, gasping when finished. A drop ran down his chin and his slowly dried it with one hand, spinning the glass in the other where he could see dark circles under his red eyes in a misshapen reflection. This was the first time he saw himself so awful.

And then, while spinning the glass, something caught his attention. Under the small window, a vase with dried flowers reflected in the clear glass.

Taken by curiosity, Kagami approached to have a better look at it, but it was to hold the vase in his hands he realized that those dried, dead flowers were once the beautiful bush of edelweiss he bought two weeks ago. And now gazing at them he felt even worse.

In those days of going to the hospital and coming back drained of energy, he completely neglected the poor flowers.

“I’m so sorry…” he whispered, caressing the dark brown petals that once were a so stunningly lovely white, completely different from the white walls he visited every day.

Kagami let his fingers brush in the dried plant, wondering what would have been Aomine’s reaction if he had seen them when a small white dot appeared in between the fragile stems. His eyes widened before one hand quick grabbed it.

His lips parted in surprise: holding in his fingers Kagami observed the last edelweiss, a petite flower that was struggling to live among its dead sisters.

“You’re still here…” he mumbled astonished.

Contemplating the unique star-shaped flower and its pure white, Kagami came to a conclusion: he wasn’t returning alone to the hospital that night.

He gently pulled the flower from its branch.

 

The low humming of the machines and the slow beeping noise were the only sounds in the room. The rest was in complete silence.  
 _“Silence”_ he thought, eyes scanning the room carefully. Since he returned to the hospital and took his place beside Aomine, the redhead made any sound. He was just sitting there with thoughts running loose.

Kagami remembered the years that they spent together. Spending the night awake because none could sleep after a horror movie, playing basketball till exhaustion, bickering and fighting over silly stuff, going to the beach during winter so they could have the place all for themselves, shopping and spending too much in snacks and missing their jobs because “this morning was made for us”, as Aomine liked to say.

There were so many memories that Kagami could spend a life reviving them. But now he was afraid to actually spend a life just reviving back and forth their memories instead of making new ones with the blue haired idiot that made his life turn 180 degrees with only a cocky smile and a challenge in a street court.

_“And now what, Taiga?”_ The question kept repeating in his mind and the redhead couldn’t find an answer.

The monitor beeped again, the slow beating heart of the tanned man still lying in the bed.

Sparing himself of looking at the green line moving up and down, Kagami let out an inaudible sigh and raised his hand, looking at what he was so carefully holding.

The petite flower had an eerie gleam under the light in the room, but the white petals were still lovely and captivating.

“It amazes me that you managed to live for so long.” His voice was barely a whisper when he spoke. Rolling the stem in between his forefinger and thumb, his lips curled into a small smile. “You’re so small… Were you still hoping that I would come back to water you?”

The redhead obviously received no reply from the edelweiss.

“It’s okay. I’m still hoping too.”

With that said, Kagami gave a last glance at the flower before turning to the sleeping man beside him. Carefully, he placed the small flower in between the long fingers of Aomine’s left hand. Done that, Kagami shifted in his chair to face him.

“A small florist shop opened across Maji Burgers, Aho. After you left to work that day, I went out to have lunch when I saw the shop. I don’t even know why I went there but before I knew it these flowers were coming back home with me.” The red haired man laughed, his broad shoulders shaking slightly. “I thought you would like them, but now I wonder all the things you could have said.”

He silenced for some minutes, watching Aomine’s chest rising in a slow pace before continuing.

“That night I felt so lost when I received the call from the hospital saying what happened… When I think about it, I could have ended up in the same situation when driving madly here, so desperate to see you.” A wave of guilty hit him that moment, but Kagami went on. “When they told me that you were in coma in the next day… I completely lost it.”

His hands trembled but Kagami quick clenched his fists.

“In the next day, I came back with an idea, you know? I would wake you up! And for one week I really thought that it was working until the doctors told me that you were escaping from our reach. Then I asked myself What now, Taiga? What can you do now?”

Silence fell upon them like a curtain, temporarily freezing the time in the room until a choked sob fell from Kagami’s mouth, as well as warm tears from his eyes, leaving wet trails on his face.

“The truth is that… I don’t know what I can do now. I don’t know what to do if you’re not with me. Years ago I thought that it would be okay if I didn’t spend my life with someone, but now imagining a life without you is worse than any nightmare. We are together even in the oldest memories I can recall.”

Closing his eyes, Kagami let his head rest in the bed where Aomine lay. His throat ached, but he whispered.

“All I can do now is to beg for you to stay and don’t leave me anymore. I can’t live a life where I can’t love your laugh, your voice, your touch, your eyes, and your kisses… you as a whole. I hate being this lonely, Aho…” the redhead let out another sob and buried his face deeper in the white covers. “What’s a life where we can’t be together, after all?” he whispered weakly.

His sobs continued for much more minutes, his hands gripping painfully the covers of the bed while wetting it with sorrowful tears. And Kagami cried silently till Morpheus took him into a place to rest.

And so the redhead fell asleep next to the blue haired that he loved so much.

The room fell in silence again while the small edelweiss gleamed softly in the darkness. When tanned fingers trembled around the flower’s stem and the beeping sound got faster, the flower felt happy to be in company of those men.

Because in reality, its beauty was nothing compared to what those two souls shared.

 

The gentle warmth against Kagami’s cheek made him sigh in delight and rub his face softly against that hard but still comfortable surface. It gave him such a familiar sensation that the redhead just wanted to stay there longer.

However, as soon as he decided to sleep more, the loud noise of a whistle and people cheering reached his ears, which made his eyes snap open in surprise.

And then a low, hoarse voice cursed next to him while the noise in the room lowered in volume until it seemed that it was just people talking behind the door.

Confused and definitely no longer sleepy, Kagami blinked, his blurry vision clearing gradually as the details of the room appeared around him. He frowned and rubbed his face while leaning back in his chair, moving away from the warmth of whatever-it-was that he was sleeping on until now.

He heard a low crack, like someone shifting in a wooden bed, and for a moment he wondered why the nurses were so early in the room. He was sure it wasn’t even 7 ‘o clock. But before he could ask what was happening, a so familiar baritone voice laughed.

“Sorry for that. You looked tired so I decided to let you sleep a little longer, but then I saw the TV and decided to watch the rerun of some game but, you know…” the voice sounded embarrassed but still carried a smile. “The TV ads are low, so you think that your program is also low so you turn up, but when the program comes back, it’s super loud.” He heard a sigh and then a hint of laugh. “That’s why we shouldn’t go back to open TV, Bakagami.”

Kagami Taiga felt his shoulders stiffen. His eyes stared at a lost point in the white sheets of the bed in front of him before slowly making their way up, finding dark skinned hands and arms with wires still connected to them. His breath quickened but his eyes didn’t stop. Then, he saw a broad chest, an equally tanned neck, sharp jawline and blue hair.

That was the same man with who Kagami fell so madly in love eight years ago, the same man who he kept taking care for two weeks. Those traces were already printed in his mind, but this time, for what seemed longer than mere two weeks, two details were added in that sight.

Kagami saw a small smile in those beautiful lips and midnight blue eyes lovely gleaming at him.

Without realizing he was lying on the thigh of the man so far, he felt a sudden pang in his chest and tears nearly started streaming from his eyes. He parted his lips, letting out a low gasp.

Gently, Aomine reached out his hand to caress one cheek of the redhead, and rubbing his thumb over the marks of tears in the soft skin, he mumbled.

“Good morning, Kagami.”

As if those words freed him from his paralysis, Kagami stood up in a swift move and, ignoring the thud from the chair falling to the floor, he wrapped his arms around Aomine’s body and buried his face in the crook of the tanned neck, inhaling his scent while words started stumbling from his quivering lips.

“A… A-Ao…” the usual vowels left in sobs, his eyes going blurry again, but this time by the tears which rapidly bubbled in his eyes. “A-Aomine…”

Daiki curled his lips in a small smile and brought up his hands to run through the red tresses, gently caressing the back of the redhead’s neck with his fingers.

“Taiga…” he whispered, feeling his neck wetting as the other male kept weeping.

“You… You are…”

“I’m sorry for making you wait,” his voice was hoarse and steady to the other’s ear. “I’m so sorry, Taiga…”

With his cheeks wet by tears once again, Kagami pulled his face away just enough to look at dark blue eyes he missed so much. And oh, they were so beautiful! And looking at them so close like that only made more tears fall.

“I thought… I thought you wouldn’t…” he swallowed another sob and squeezed his eyes shut, his tears dripping in the tanned cheek. “I felt so alone…” he cried.

Inside his chest, Aomine’s heart throbbed in pain. How could he have done that to the man he loved so much? Seeing tears in those eyes that he spent so much time admiring at and sobs falling from the always smiling lips that he kissed so many times was the most terrible sight he’d ever seen. Aomine felt his own eyes water.

“I thought you would leave me…” Kagami mumbled.

Tanned fingers left the red tresses to wipe the tears running down warm cheeks. Aomine’s lips were trembling when he spoke, but his voice was smiling.

“Haven’t I said it before, Bakagami?” his vision blurred a little but he continued with voice low only for both of them to hear. He smiled. “… As if I could leave you, Taiga.”

With breath caught in his throat, Kagami’s heart thundered inside his ribcage.

Right before his eyes, Aomine was looking at him with tears in his midnight eyes and a smile in his lips. “My life would be nothing without you” the thought crossed his mind as he reached out to trace sharp cheekbones before locking his fingers in silk blue hair. At the same time the hands cupping his face pulled him closer.

_Not even one thousand lives are worth if you aren’t with me._

Their noses bumped softly, breaths mingling for one moment before their lips locked together in a so long-awaited kiss. Tiny tears ran down their cheeks, but they didn’t mind while intertwining their fingers in each other’s hair. The feeling of butterflies inside the stomach was nothing to what they felt deep in their core, but it wasn’t time to think about

it when a warmth spread through their bodies just made them wish to never end that embrace.

 

It didn’t take long for a ruckus to spread in the hospital. The once so quiet corridor was now full with nurses that walked up and down nonstop, bringing medicines and other stuff that the doctors asked, but as well spreading the news for the rest of the hospital about the man who awoke from a coma.

Doctor number one and number two wanted to make a complete check up in Aomine, worried about his conditions after spending so much time sleeping, but the guy just complained that _“if I don’t take a piss in this second we all are gonna have a big problem here”_ , so they just spend a few hours more in the hospital before being dispatched.

Kagami couldn’t be happier as he walked down the street with Aomine. The wind blowing his face never felt so good, and he could barely stop grinning as he held tightly the bluenette’s hand. As they walked away from the hospital, the white walls were vanishing little by little and he couldn’t wait until they were back to their home.

“You know,” when they stopped to wait for the traffic light, Aomine suddenly spoke up. “I saw this while I was… in my coma.”

Turning his head to the bluenette, he was surprised to find the edelweiss from the night before in his hands.

“You... Saw what?”

“I saw it, Kagami.” Aomine repeated, looking down at the petite flower. “In the beginning I could feel your touch and hear your voice, but you were gradually fading away from me… I couldn’t see anything, but I felt it was getting dark around me.” His voice dropped an octave.

Taiga eyes him, worried. “Daiki…”

“But then, out of nowhere, this bloomed in front of me. It was stunningly white and I remember being so shocked to see it.” He laughed, rolling the flower’s stem slowly in his fingers. “I was so scared to get engulfed in that darkness that, when that white star appeared in front of me I just ran to grab it…” he paused for a moment before averting his eyes to look at the redhead. “When I least realized it, I really grabbed that tiny star; which was actually this flower, and… You were sitting right next to me, soundly asleep.”

They looked at each other in silence before the bluenette curled his lips into a small smile.

“But I’m so glad… This flower led my way back to you.”

Suddenly, a gust of wind came from the north, shaking the trees around them and making leaves fly to everywhere. Both closed their eyes but the small edelweiss flew away from Aomine’s fingers, going straight to the sky.

“Oh shit!” the dark skinned man exclaimed as he realized what happened, watching the flower flying away in the orange sky and disappearing somewhere between the last rays of sun of that day.

The gust of wind was soon over but his fringe still fluttered while Kagami looked at the orange sky where the last edelweiss disappeared when Aomine’s voice spoke up next to him.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t holding it properly and…” he frowned and _tsk_ ed, scratching the back of his head.

Kagami looked at him for a while before giving a smile. “It is okay” he said, squeezing the tanned hand in his own. “We can go to the florist shop and buy something else. What you think?”

Daiki went silent for a moment before replying.

“I’d rather you buy me teriyaki burgers.” He smirked when Kagami frowned at him and quick added. “You can still be the dessert, if this makes you—”

Kagami quick pushed the bluenette with his shoulder. “Don’t you dare finish this sentence, Aho.” He growled, but as soon as he heard Aomine’s rich laugh beside him, the redhead soon followed with his own laughter as the traffic light closed, both crossing the street as they talked if Aomine would gain a scar in his forehead due his wound, and if yes, if he would look cool or ruin his “God like” appearance, as he said.

Far away from there, the last edelweiss was shattered in the strong gusts of wind, its white petals finally losing their white gleam as the flower died. All living things would one day meet their end, but not the bond that held those two souls together. That would never come to an end.

Although the edelweiss meaning was the promise of eternal love, Kagami and Aomine were the real proof of that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Edelweiss finally comes to an end. Despite comings and goings, smiles and tears, and sorrowful endings for two lifetimes, their love remained true and eternal for each other. After all, it was with courage and noble purity that Kagami and Aomine proved their love for each other; even after death.
> 
> \---
> 
> ok, but... let me be very real now. you guys won't even believe how happy i am now. i feel deep inside my kokoro that this chapter was the best thing i have ever written in my entire fucking life, even if it's in another language. hOWEVER, I ALSO AM POOPING MY PANTS BECAUSE I'M 100000% SURE THAT THERE ARE THINGS REALLY CONFUSING AND TERRIBLE WRITTEN HERE BECAUSE WOW, NOT SPEAKING ENGLISH FLUENTLY CAN BE A PAIN IN THE ASS!!!! *cries*
> 
> so... *leans on table* i'm dead inside. i kept worrying myself for weeks (4 months actually, which 2 and a half were pure proscratination) because this chapter was the great deal in the fanfic, but--- *heavily sweats* WHEN I REMEMBERED THAT KAGAAO WAS COMING I WAS LIKE "NIIIEGGHH I HAVE TO FINISH THIS GODDAMN FANFIC IN THE KAGAAO DAY!" so i literally gave up on school to write this. but i'm dead inside now because i finished this fanfic and now i don't know what to do.
> 
> *HEAVILY SWEATS* I ACTUALLY DO. I'VE BEEN AVOIDING READING THE LAST CHAPTERS OF KNB BUT NOW THAT I AM A FREE SOUL I'LL READ THEM ALL AND SUFFER A LOT.
> 
> But now let tell you that AO3 says that Edelweiss has 1735 hits or smth, which I strongly doubt. "how come this fanfic has so many hits??? IT'S NOT WORTHY IT!!! AND HOW PEOPLE ARE FINDING THIS FANFIC EVEN AFTER 4 MONTHS SINCE THE LAST CHAPTER???" but in my heart I really hope that people are actually reading the story, despite not leaving comments.
> 
> Which brings me to the next topic. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT IN THIS LAST CHAPTER! THIS IS THE LAST ONE AND I PUT A LOT OF EFFORT IN IT WHILE WORRYING TO POST ON KAGAAO DAY, SO PLEEEASSSEEE!!!
> 
> Also: I put a smut stuff here, even if I didn't write the whole thing... But I'm actually thinking of writing something very dirty of them next... But I would love to know if I at least wrote something acceptable in the not-so-innocent parts. It was really fun writing them while listening to heavy rock and Partition!
> 
> ALSO: I'm sorry if the sentimental parts weren't so sentimental. I am not a sentimental person so I wrote there what I learned with movies... *hides face* And... Yeah. I think that's it.
> 
> I'm really glad that you guys read the whole thing! I hope you had fun and like the story, because I loved killing them in the first two chapters! This couple man ♥
> 
> See you in the next suffering time!
> 
>  
> 
> (38 pages. 17,745 words. i will seriously kiss everybody that read this till the end.)


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